Georgia Severe Weather Preparedness Week
DeKalb ARES participated in Georgia Severe Weather Preparedness Week — reinforcing storm-spotter procedures, severe weather reporting criteria, and public preparedness awareness across the county. The week is co-hosted by GEMA/HS and the National Weather Service, with a daily theme rotation and the statewide tornado drill on Wednesday.
What it is
Severe Weather Preparedness Week (SWPW) is an annual campaign jointly run by GEMA/HS and NWS Peachtree City, encouraging Georgians to think through their household plan for severe weather before the spring tornado season picks up. Each day covers a different hazard or preparedness topic, with a statewide tornado drill on Wednesday as the week’s centerpiece.
2026 daily themes
| Day | Theme |
|---|---|
| Mon Feb 2 | Family Preparedness — NOAA Weather Radio + Wireless Emergency Alerts |
| Tue Feb 3 | Thunderstorm Safety — hail, damaging-wind threats and impacts |
| Wed Feb 4 | Tornado Safety — statewide tornado drill at 9:30 AM, NOAA Weather Radio test warning |
| Thu Feb 5 | Lightning Safety |
| Fri Feb 6 | Flash Flooding / Flood Safety |
DeKalb ARES participation
DKARES’s main day-of contribution to SWPW was Wednesday’s statewide tornado drill, where members checked in across the linked Skywarn repeater system, NWSChat, and the GA ARES Winlink and HF P2P nets. Members were also encouraged to use the week as a reminder to test their NOAA Weather Radios, refresh their Skywarn spotter knowledge, and pass the preparedness messaging on to neighbors and served-agency contacts — the public-facing leg of the campaign that GEMA leans on volunteers to help carry.
Why this matters
DeKalb sits in NWS Peachtree City’s coverage area and has seen real tornadic activity even within the immediate weeks around this year’s SWPW (see the March 16 EF-0 near Salem Road). The week is the cleanest annual occasion to confirm that the radios, the plans, and the people are all ready for what spring routinely brings.