Oneida County Designated As Storm Ready

Oneida County has been designated as a Storm Ready County by the National Weather Service.

Storm Ready is a nationwide community preparedness program that uses a grass-roots approach to help communities develop plans to handle local severe weather and flooding threats.

Katherine Hawley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Binghamton, says it's a very important designation for the county due to its history of severe weather and floods.

To be recognized as Storm Ready, a county must maintain a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center, have more than one way to receive National Weather Service warnings and  alert the public and be able to monitor local weather and flood conditions.

More than 2,200 communities are certified as Storm Ready.

Hawley presented Oneida County officials with a certificate and special Storm Ready sign during a ceremony at the County Office Building.