Learn about Gallatin County's Weather

Release Number: 130506-01
For Immediate Release
Contact: Patrick Lonergan, 406-582-2350

Learn About Gallatin County’s Weather

Bozeman, MT – The community is encouraged to come join Gallatin County and the National Weather Service on Thursday to learn about weather in our area through the SKYWARN program.  The SKYWARN program is designed to teach people about hazardous weather conditions that are common in their area to enhance public recognition of dangerous situations.  Individuals who attend SKYWARN training will be taught how to recognize weather events and how to pass what they see onto the National Weather Service, providing valuable eyes on the ground.  The information learned is valuable to anyone, regardless of their plans to pass what they see on to the National Weather Service.

SKYWARN Training – Learn about our local weather
May 9th, 6:30-9:30 pm
No Cost – Just Show Up
Gallatin County Coordination Center
219 East Tamarack
Bozeman, MT 59715

Visit skywarn.org for more information on the SKYWARN Program.

Have you obtained Flood Insurance yet?

Visit floodsmart.gov for information on how to obtain coverage for flooding.

Do you need flood insurance?

As we approach flood season residents should evaluate the need for flood insurance. Many residents do not realize that damage from flooding is not covered by homeowners insurance and requires a seperate flood insurance policy. Flood insurance polices also require a 30 day waiting period to take affect, so don't wait until flooding begins. Visit floodsmart.gov for more information on the federally backed National Flood Insurance Program.

Montana Severe Weather Awareness Week, April 15-19, 2013

Contact: Chris Foltz, NWS Great Falls 406-453-9957 April 8, 2013

The week of April 15 through 19 has been proclaimed Severe Weather Awareness Week in Montana. Montana thunderstorms can and will occasionally produce tornadoes, damaging winds, large hail and flash floods; threatening lives and causing significant property damage. In 2012 alone, Montana had 3 tornadoes confirmed, 138 high wind and damaging wind events, 151 large hail reports and 2 flash floods; causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and resulting in several injuries.

We can’t prevent severe thunderstorms from occurring, but we can plan now and know what to do when the next round of severe weather threatens. This is an excellent time for all individuals, families, businesses, schools, radio and television stations to review their spring and summer preparedness plans. Take time to learn more about severe weather, develop severe weather preparedness plans, and test vital communications.

Become aware of upcoming hazardous weather by using the theme, “Ready, Set, Go.”

Ready - Monitor National Weather Service Hazardous Weather Outlooks 7 days in advance. The potential for hazardous weather will be outlined along with any uncertainty in the forecast.
Set - As confidence increases, watches will be issued to give you a heads up that you need to be prepared for the possibility of severe weather within the next 8 hours.
Go - Warnings will be issued when the National Weather Service is confident that a storm is producing severe weather. Seek shelter now if you are in the path of the storm.

The following will be the themes for each day:

• Monday: Severe Weather Terminology
• Tuesday: Severe Weather Climatology
• Wednesday: Severe Weather Safety
• Thursday: Lightning Safety
• Friday: Weather Information Sources

For more information, visit the National Weather Service website at
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/byz/severe/index.php?wfo=tfx

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Montana wildfires to be discussed during April 11 Cafe Scientifique

BOZEMAN -"Wildfires in Montana's Past and Its Future" will be the focus of the Cafe Scientifique to be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 11, in the Baxter Ballroom in downtown Bozeman. The speaker will be Cathy Whitlock, director of the Montana Institute on Ecosystems and professor of earth sciences at Montana State University. She will talk about wildfires as the next fire season approaches, what we know from the past, what we can expect in the future, and what we should do.

Climate change and human activities are altering fire regimes around the world and especially in the western U.S. In the last 20 years, Montana has seen larger and more severe fires than in recent history, raising scientific concerns about their cause and precedence, Whitlock said. Two pictures are emerging: Studies of the past show that fires are a natural part of most ecosystems, but that current fire activity may be exceeding anything in the last 10,000 years. Future climate projections suggest that rising temperatures will continue to increase wildfire size and severity, posing ever greater risk for human health and safety and forest recovery.

For more information, contact Laurie Howell at (406) 994-7531 or lhowell@montana.edu. For more information about the Cafe Scientifique concept, check the Web at http://www.inbre.montana.edu/cafe.php.

Controlled Burners Urged to Utilize Caution

Contact: Patrick Lonergan, 406-582-2395

People in the Gallatin Valley conducting controlled burns are encouraged to do so in a safe manner as fires can easily get out of control this time of year. After the snow melts the grasses are often quite dry and fires can grow out of control very quickly. When fire is provided continous fuel (grass) and wind, they are very capable of rapid growth that can outpace the burners ability to control leading to extensive property damage. Historically this area will see fires around this time of year followed by a slow down as the grass greens up, then fire potential will increase as the grass drys back out throughout the summer months.

Individuals conducting a controlled burn with a Gallatin County Burn Permit are encouraged to follow these tips:

• Don't set more on fire than you can control.
• Always be onsite while burning and until the fire is completely out.
• Always have a method to extinguish the fire (hose, water truck, disk, etc...).
• Always create a buffer around your fire that is clear of vegetation.
• Think twice about burning if it is windy out (can it wait until conditions are in your favor).
• Have a method to call 911 if the fire gets out of control, and call as soon as it gets out of control.

Gallatin County Burn Permits can be obtained at http://burnpermits.mt.gov.

Is your business in compliance with hazardous materials reporting?

In December 1984, a cloud of highly toxic methyl isocyanite was released from a chemical plant in Bhopal India. 2000 people were killed and thousands more injured. Eight months later, a less toxic derivative of the same chemical was released from a plant in West Virginia. In Bhopal, prevention equipment had been installed and a local evacuation plan developed. At the time of the release, the equipment was not in service and the surrounding communities were unaware of the evacuation plans. These two incidents caused the United States government to enact legislation to ensure that equipment and response plans are in place, and that information is available to the public on the hazardous materials in their communities.

Submission of Tier One or Tier Two forms is required by Title III of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, Section 312, Public Law 99-499, codified at 42 U.S.C. Section 11022.
Reports must be submitted annually by March 1st of each year. Copies of the report must be submitted to the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC), Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) and the fire department with jurisdiction over the facility.

Any business with one or more hazardous chemicals may have to report under Community Right to Know. If a facility has hazardous chemicals on site, but does not meet the Threshold Planning Quantity for the specific chemical there may not be a reporting requirement.

Learn more about what chemicals and quantities are required to be reported annually by visiting ReadyGallatin.com before the March 1st reporting deadline.