FY2019 Arlington Fire Department Annual Report FY 2019 | Page 41

StormReady® designation is awarded to those communities
that take prescribed steps to lower their vulnerability to
extreme weather and water events. The program encourages
communities to take a new, proactive approach to improving
local hazardous weather operations by providing emergency
managers with clear-cut guidelines on how to improve their
hazardous weather operations. In order to receive StormReady®
designation communities must:
▸ ▸ Establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center
▸ ▸ Have more than one way to receive severe weather warnings and forecasts and to alert the public
▸ ▸ Create a system that monitors weather conditions locally
▸ ▸ Promote the importance of public readiness through community seminars
▸ ▸ Develop a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding
emergency exercises
The Outdoor Warning System
is comprised of 53 sirens and is
tested on the first Wednesday of
each month.
On June 16, 2019 (Father’s Day), 40 structures
in three different areas of Arlington were
impacted by an EF-1 tornado and straight-line
winds.  The National Weather Service office in
Fort Worth determined that an EF-1 tornado
impacted North Arlington for .2 miles, affecting
several neighborhoods. Additionally, areas in
West Arlington and in South Arlington were
impacted by significant straight-line winds causing
additional damage to those neighborhoods.  The
City of Arlington Fire Department coordinated
City resources to conduct citywide damage
assessments and debris removal, as well as
conducting lifesaving measures for the affected
areas.
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