Got it? Get it!

Sign up today. The Alert Montgomery System provides accurate, immediate emergency notifications from Montgomery County to your cell, work or home phone, via text, email or voice message. Receive notifications about emergencies that may affect your home, workplace, child's school or any other locations within Montgomery County, Maryland.

Government and School Closures for county government or public school closures, cancellations or delays due to inclement weather or other emergencies

Weather Advisories for you or your families home, business, school, child care, or more

Infrastructure Issues including Water and Power Outages

Up-To-The-Minute Traffic Issues including accidents, closed roads, alternative routes and more

So please take a moment and SIGN UP FOR ALERT MONTGOMERY today!

Get Emergency Alerts. Get Alert Montgomery

One obvious goal of our 101 Days of Summer Safety is to provide our residents with information in the hopes of helping you to prevent having to make a 911 call.

Another is to equip you with information that will help to prepare you in case of  an emergency whether natural or man-made. Today MCFRS would like to encourage all residents to become aware of, and sign up for, Alert Montgomery.

The Alert Montgomery System provides accurate, immediate emergency notifications from Montgomery County to your cell, work or home phone, via text, email or voice message. Receive notifications about emergencies that may affect your home, workplace, child's school, parents' home, or any other locations within Montgomery County, Maryland.

Government and School Closures for county government or public school closures, cancellations or delays due to inclement weather or other emergencies

Weather Advisories for you or your families home, business, school, child care, or more

Infrastructure Issues including Water and Power Outages

Up-To-The-Minute Traffic Issues including accidents, closed roads, alternative routes and more

So please take a moment and SIGN UP FOR ALERT MONTGOMERY today!

Tornado Folklore

By: Rocky Lopes

There is this thing called "folklore," which by definition can include legends, oral history, and popular beliefs. Folklore creeps into some of our thinking about severe weather, and may be something you have heard or have passed on to children. Let me share some "Tornado Folklore" that many of us have heard:

Photo from NOAA's Severe Storms Lab in Norman, OK

Folklore: Tornadoes only happen in "tornado alley" -- roughly defined as states in the Midwest from Texas to Minnesota.

Truths: While many strong tornadoes happen in the Midwest, they can -- and have -- happened in every state.

In many years, more people have died as a result of tornadoes that happen east of the Mississippi River than west of the river. Why? People who live west of the Mississippi River are more accustomed to having tornadoes, and have learned what to do, when to get to shelter, and how to be safe since they were a child.

Folklore: Tornadoes never hit cities.

Truths: Since the majority of land area in the U.S. is unpopulated, it appears as if tornadoes only strike rural areas.  The relative amount of area of a city with tall buildings is small compared with the city as a whole.

Unfortunately, we learned from many past events and as recently as May, 2013, that this belief isn't true. Just ask residents of Nashville, TN; Houston and Dallas, TX; Tuscaloosa, AL; Joplin, MO; or Moore, OK.

Folklore: You need to open windows in your house to equalize air pressure before a tornado may strike, to prevent the house from exploding.

Truths: Even with windows closed, houses have enough openings to vent the pressure difference in the time it takes a tornado to pass.  Some of the strongest thunderstorms have longer duration of low air pressure -- houses do not explode during those storms, so they won't during a tornado.  Opening windows is a dangerous and useless waste of time, and could actually be harmful to the house.

Folklore: Get into the southwest corner of your basement in case of a tornado.

Truths: Being underground is definitely safer than being above ground, but no particular corner of a basement is safer than any other.  Tornadoes can come from any direction. While it may appear that tornadoes in the Midwest always move from southwest toward to northeast, that is not always true. In fact, the EF5 Tornado that hit Oklahoma in May, 2013, traveled almost due west to east.

Folklore: Tornadoes do not cross bodies of water.

Truth: Tornadoes cross rivers regularly. The stream of tornadoes that occurred on April 27, 2011, crossed many rivers in 17 states.

Folklore: Once the tornado has passed, you can go out to inspect for damage.

Truths: Some strong storms can produce more than one tornado, sometimes several tornadoes at a time. On April 27, 2011, 362 tornadoes happened from two long lines of storms, creating the largest tornado outbreak in U.S. history.

Folklore: Our area doesn't have sirens, so we will not get notified in case of a tornado.

Truths: We are fortunate in Montgomery County to have many ways to get warnings in case of tornadoes or other emergencies.

Coming soon this year, FEMA's Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system sends notifications to WEA-enabled mobile devices at no charge. Using GPS technology, these notifications appear on mobile devices in areas under warning for a tornado or other life-threatening emergency.  Get more information about Wireless Emergency Alerts here.

You should also sign up for Alert Montgomery.  This system will send alert messages to any device you specify: cell and smart phones, email accounts, PDAs, and pagers. It's free, and you can adjust settings on it to receive alerts for life safety, fire, severe weather, accidents involving utilities or roadways, and crime.

NOAA Weather Radio will sound an alert for severe weather and other emergencies that are issued for Montgomery County. Once you set it, it will provide a tone alert with a radio announcement describing what is happening and what to do. You can buy one of these radios from electronics stores.

Providers of cable television service in Montgomery County, e.g., Comcast and FiOS, will broadcast notices from the Emergency Alert System (EAS) when issued by local authorities. EAS notices are broadcast on all channels simultaneously.

Be sure to "Like" the Facebook page for theMontgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) Department, and MontgomeryCounty Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

And follow MCFRS on Twitter.

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Rocky Lopes is an emergency management professional and has published numerous articles and information on disaster safety for some 25 years. He works at the National Weather Service Headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, and has lived in Montgomery County his entire life.

Alert Montgomery

With some of the local storm activity over the past couple of weeks, I thought it was a good time to make all of you out there aware, or remind you, of a great FREE alerting tool that you can sign up for.  It is called Alert Montgomery and the system allows you to receive important emergency alerts, notifications and updates on any and all of your electronic devices.


You can receive notifications via the following platforms:

• e-mail account (work, home, other)
• cell phone
• text pager
• BlackBerry
• wireless PDA
• XM Radio Channel 214
• Twitter: Add "Montgomery County MD" in find people
• Facebook: Add "Montgomery County MD" in friends
• Facebook: Add "Montgomery County MD Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security" in friends
• Text MONTGOMERY to 411911

To learn more and sign up, please go here: ALERT MONTGOMERY

April 8 – 14 is Severe Storm Awareness Week; Residents Urged to Prepare for Severe Weather and Other Emergencies

During National Severe Storm Awareness Week (April 8 – 14) Montgomery County’s Office of Homeland Security is urging residents to ensure they are prepared for the next storm , whether it is tornados, hurricanes, possibility of high winds, power outages, severe lightning, hail or flooding. Last year, the state of Maryland experienced 27 tornado incidents.

Anyone who has not already signed up for the County’s Alert Montgomery notification system is encouraged to do so by going to https://alert.montgomerycountymd.gov and selecting the types of emergency alerts they are interested in receiving. Options include weather, severe traffic, schools, parks and government facilities, athletic fields and public events. Residents then specify the devices to which the messages should be sent --cell phones, text pagers, wireless PDAs, home and work emails.

“A few minutes of preparation can make all the difference in how well an individual fares during a severe storm,” said Chris Voss, director of the Montgomery County Office of Homeland Security. “Simple things like maintaining a first aid kit with essential medications for emergencies and keeping at least one gallon of water per person per day on hand can significantly improve personal safety during a severe storm.”

During a severe storm incident, be sure to heed warnings issued by the National Weather Service. A severe storm/thunderstorm watch means there is a possibility of storm activity in the area. A severe storm/thunderstorm warning means activity is occurring or will be occurring soon. Actions to protect life and property should begin immediately when a warning is issued.

Some other severe storm tips to remember:

Prior to the emergency:

• Keep enough food, water, medication (if needed) and batteries on hand in the event that power is lost during severe storms.

• Check portable radios, smoke detectors and flashlights to ensure they are properly operating and that the batteries are fresh.

• Stay tuned to local weather and news reports; if emergency officials advise residents to evacuate, do so without delay.

• Residents living in low-lying areas where flooding is anticipated, should remove furniture and valuables from those areas that are prone to water accumulation.

• If strong winds are predicted (in excess of 70 miles per hour), consider boarding up windows to prevent breakage; trash cans and other unsecured items in the yard should be taken indoors.

• Don’t drive during a severe storm, but, if you must, stay away from roads near rivers and streams and areas where flooding may occur. Never cross over a roadway that has flowing water.

During an emergency:

• Stay indoors and away from windows; if tornado or hurricane-force winds are predicted, relocate to the basement or a room that has no windows.

• If outside, seek shelter indoors immediately.

• Stay tuned to local weather and news reports for emergency information; if told to evacuate by emergency officials, do so immediately.

• If power is lost, do not use candles for lighting, use flashlights.

After the emergency:

• Do not use fresh food that has come in contact with flood waters; if refrigeration is lost due to a power outage, perishable foods such as meat and milk products may not be safe to eat and should be discarded.

• Call utility companies to report downed lines and power outages.

Severe storm information and publications are available from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) website at www.nws.noaa.gov and www.education.noaa.gov.

For more information, call 3-1-1.

NOTE: The above information was taken from a County Press Release  ID: 12-090