April 22 is not only Earth Day — it’s also the start of the first-ever National Severe Weather Preparedness Week. 

Each year, many people are killed or seriously injured by tornadoes and other types of severe weather, despite advance warning. In 2011, there were more than 1,000 weather-related fatalities and more than 8,000 injuries. Severe weather knows no boundaries and does not discriminate —but that doesn’t mean we wave the white flag and surrender to nature’s whim.  It means now is the time to Be a Force of Nature in your community and resolve to build a Weather Ready Nation.