I have a couple safety alerts/reminders I’m rounding up into one post. There are severe weather warnings and semi-annual reminders about fire safety.
Friday – Saturday: Weekend Weather alert
Southborough Emergency Management shared warnings about potential severe weather tonight and tomorrow. Since the data was from yesterday (and uncertain), I checked the National Weather Service site for the updated forecast for Southborough.
The image right is cobbled together from data on the website last updated at 6:47 am this morning.
At this point, it looks like there is only a slight probability of flooding conditions, but followed by high likelihood of very strong wind gusts.
An alert for Saturday afternoon warns that in areas including Central MA:
Damaging winds will blow down trees and power lines. Widespread power outages are expected. Travel will be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles.
According to the National Weather Services’ latest forecasts, Southborough should expect rain and possible thunder today to tomorrow. But a flooding deluge is only in the “slight” category. Expect sustained winds to only reach 15 mph. But as the chance of rain wanes on Saturday afternoon, wind gusts are expected to pick up and reach up to 57 mph at peak in town.
No degree of certainty was included, so you may want to look for updates. You can check for NWS’ updated data here and forecast summaries here.
Sunday: Time to “Turn and Test”
The Red Cross sent me a reminder for readers that Sunday is the end of Daylight Savings. That means it will be time to for clocks to “fall back” one hour.
The agency isn’t worried about you turning up too early to a soccer game or Monday morning meeting. The reminder is part of its Home Fire Campaign:
Daylight saving time ends this Sunday, and the American Red Cross urges everyone to test their smoke alarms when turning back their clocks.
As the fall season ushers in cold weather, it also increases the risk of deadly home fires. That’s because heating equipment is the second most common cause of fatalities from home fires—which, on average, take seven lives every day in the U.S., according to the National Fire Protection Association. But working smoke alarms can double a person’s odds of survival.
“The Red Cross wants everyone to stay safe this winter,” said Lloyd Ziel, Director of Communications for the American Red Cross in Massachusetts. “This weekend, please take time to ‘turn and test’ to protect you and your family against the season’s life-threatening risk of home fires.” Learn more in this video.
Every eight minutes, the Red Cross responds to a disaster – most often, home fires. Here in Massachusetts, volunteers responded to more than 600 home fires last year, fires that displaced nearly 5,000 residents.
This weekend, the Red Cross asks everyone to take these simple steps:
- Check smoke alarm batteries. When turning the clocks back, take a few minutes to replace the smoke alarm batteries if needed and push the test button to make sure the alarms are working. It’s also a great time to check carbon monoxide detectors.
- Install smoke alarms. If you don’t have working smoke alarms, install them. At a minimum, put one on every level of the home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas. Check local building codes for additional requirements.
- Practice an escape plan. Make sure everyone in the household knows two ways to get out of every room and how to get out of the home in less than two minutes.
