February 9 -13, 2009 has been designated as Severe Weather Awareness Week in Louisiana. Our web site has been updated with Severe Weather Awareness Week safety information. http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lix/ As part of the Awareness Week activities we will transmit a test tornado warning on NOAA Weather Radio Wednesday morning, February 11, between 900 and 930 AM...weather permitting. With regard to EAS, the test warning will be encoded as a Routine Weekly Test (RWT code) which will alert and turn on most weather radios with the word TEST on the LCD screen...but will not cause an EAS activation. The test warning will be clearly worded as a Test, as part of Severe Weather Awareness Week. The test on Wednesday is good opportunity for residents to test their NOAA Weather Radio to make sure they are working properly. So far, the late fall and winter months have been relatively quiet with respect to severe weather including tornadoes and damaging winds. However, we are approaching the climatological peak of our severe weather season, during the late winter and early spring months. Severe Weather Awareness Week is a good time to review severe weather plans, including: knowing the difference between Severe Weather Watches and Warnings, making make sure you have a reliable means to receive severe weather information, and know the appropriate safety measures and sheltering you would take if Severe Weather Watches and Warnings are issued.