Gabby Perez, right, her father Armando, center, and her niece Victoria watch and record lightning striking over Lake Michigan from Montrose Harbor on the evening of Feb. 27.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times file
City agencies are urging Chicagoans to participate in a statewide tornado drill Wednesday morning, part of Severe Weather Preparedness Week.
The tornado drill will be conducted by the National Weather Service at 11 a.m. Wednesday. The event will include use of emergency signals on radios, according to the weather service. Sirens aren’t expected to be used, though they will be Tuesday during monthly siren testing.
Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications plans to provide safety and preparedness tips Monday through Friday this week, just after the Chicago area saw at least 11 tornado touchdowns last week — the second most of any U.S. state this year.
Research has pointed to climate change and warmer weather as a catalyst in the uptick in severe storms after Chicago saw its warmest February on record.
“It is important to be prepared and to seek shelter to avoid the impacts of these conditions,” a spokesperson for the OEMC wrote in a statement.
Each day will tackle a different topic: warnings on Monday, lighting on Tuesday, tornadoes on Wednesday, hail and wind on Thursday and flash flooding on Friday.