Statewide tornado drill postponed until Friday due to threat for severe weather

Jessica Arp by Jessica Arp

A statewide tornado drill scheduled for Thursday has been delayed until Friday because of the potential for severe weather, Wisconsin Emergency Management officials said Wednesday.

The drill was originally scheduled for April 11 and would include a mock tornado watch at 1 p.m. followed by a mock tornado warning at 1:45 p.m. and a second mock warning at 6:45 p.m.

That drill will now be conducted Friday, April 12.

The Wisconsin Statewide Tornado Drill has been POSTPONED from Thursday until Friday due to the possibility of severe storms. We are not expecting widespread severe weather, but we may have to issue a real warning & don’t want people to be confused if the warnings are real. #wiwx pic.twitter.com/Ps3Q0eRW1b

— NWS Milwaukee (@NWSMKX) April 10, 2019

Wisconsin Emergency Management said National Weather Service officials said there was a potential threat for severe thunderstorms, hail or tornadoes in southern Wisconsin on Thursday.

“While the severe weather threat is expected to pass after Thursday, WEM and its partners will continue to monitor conditions and evaluate Friday’s plans,” officials said in a statement. “If the threat of tornadoes or severe thunderstorms persists into Friday, the drill could be cancelled. In that event, a makeup date would not be scheduled.”

State officials say information on the status of Friday’s drill will be shared with news agencies, local governments and school officials Thursday.

COPYRIGHT 2020 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.