On Wednesday, the National Weather Service in Jackson issued a tornado warning alert in its coverage area. This happened during the state wide tornado drill.
Many people in eastern Kentucky reported the alert did not have a clear test disclaimer and came across as a active tornado warning. This happened during the statewide tornado drill, as part of Severe Weather Preparedness Week.
Many broadcast outlets aired the warning, including WEKU. When we reached out to the Jackson National Weather Service Office, who directed us to NOAA.
A spokeswoman with NOAA sent a statement saying:
“In support of the statewide tornado drill across Kentucky on March 4, the National Weather Service office in Jackson, KY issued a pre-planned test Tornado Warning. The message clearly stated that it was a test and that no severe weather was occurring. Due to an inadvertent coding issue, the message was disseminated beyond the usual limited scale for such a test message. We are currently addressing this issue to ensure future tests are coded correctly.”
They say they are addressing this issue to ensure future tests are coded correctly.
