StormReady is a nationwide community preparedness program of the National Weather Service that uses a grassroots approach to help communities develop plans to handle all types of severe weather — from tornadoes to tsunamis. The program encourages communities to take a new, proactive approach to improving local hazardous weather operations by providing emergency managers with clear-cut guidelines on how to improve their hazardous weather operations.

StormReady communities are better prepared to save lives from the onslaught of severe weather through better planning, education and awareness. No community is storm proof, but StormReady can help communities save lives.

To be officially StormReady, a community must:

• Establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center.
• Have more than one way to receive severe weather warnings and forecasts and to alert the public.
• Create a system that monitors weather conditions locally.
• Promote the importance of public readiness through community seminars.
• Develop a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding emergency exercises.