They say if you don’t like Iowa’s weather, wait a few days and it is bound to change, and spring in Iowa brings with it the most forceful of Iowa’s weather changes: tornadoes.

To prepare for the annual severe weather season the National Weather Service and the Iowa Emergency Management Division have declared March 31 through April 4 as Severe Weather Awareness Week in Iowa.

Story County, as part of a statewide voluntary tornado drill, will test tornado warning sirens on April 1 sometime between 10 and 11 a.m.

“The purpose of this week is two-fold: one, to educate the public about severe weather hazards and what action to take, and second for law enforcement, the weather service and others to practice before the real thing,” said Harry Hillaker, state climatologist for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

Hillaker said Iowa has three major spring weather hazards: tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and flash floods.

During this week, the National Weather Service and most towns and cities across Iowa will test their emergency weather procedures, run sirens and perform practice drills to prepare for severe weather events. Schools often run tornado drills, and TV and radio stations will run information spots explaining the following severe weather terms:

Severe thunderstorm watch means conditions are favoring severe weather, including strong winds, hail and dangerous lightning.

Severe thunderstorm warning means a severe thunderstorm has been located by radar or a spotter.

Flash flood watch means a large amount of rain could cause streams and rivers to swell extremely fast and cause flooding in minutes.

Flash flood warning means streams and rivers are flooding rapidly and people living in low-lying areas should seek higher ground immediately.

Tornado watch means conditions are favorable for tornadoes to develop. Taking some precautions to protect family and prepare for tornadoes is recommended. Tune to a radio or TV station for weather information.

Tornado warning means a tornado has been seen or detected by radar, and people should take cover immediately. Do not stop for supplies or opening windows. Most communities in Iowa have sirens, and TV and radios will play long steady tones to announce severe weather.

“Don’t open any windows or close them, just take cover,” Hillaker said. “It makes no difference if the windows are open when a tornado hits except to get things inside wet and blown around. Besides, during a tornado warning the last thing you want to be near is a window.”

Hillaker said the farther below ground one can get, the better.

“Get to the interior of a building, away from windows. You want as many walls between you and the tornado as possible.”

The ISU campus may be an ideal location for those caught in a bad storm or even a tornado.

The buildings are heavy and well-built and there are few wide open spaces on campus to get caught in without shelter nearby.

Mobile homes are terrible places to be when a tornado strikes because the homes can easily be picked up by high winds.

“Even a small tornado with winds of 70 to 80 miles per hour can blow a mobile home off its foundation,” Hillaker said. Usually, mobile home parks have shelters to go to in the event of a weather emergency.

Cars are also bad places to be during a tornado, for those caught out in the country find a ditch or drainage pipe.

“Get as low to the ground as possible. It’s the cross winds that are the most dangerous during a tornado, not ones that come straight down. Many people in the moments of panic get into their car and drive away and end up heading right into the tornado when their homes were left untouched,” Hillaker said.

It has been 10 years since the last tornado-related death in Iowa. Last year’s 18 reported tornadoes were a record for the fewest number of tornadoes in Iowa since 1976.

The average number of tornadoes in Iowa each year is about 40, but in some years there have been as many as 70 or 80.

“There is no way of knowing how much bad weather Iowa will have, it’s just the right conditions coming together at the right moments,” Hillaker said.