North Carolina's Severe Weather Awareness week is underway. Meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Raleigh say it's the time of year when the threat of thunderstorms and other severe weather returns to the area. Among this week's events is a statewide tornado drill Wednesday morning. Meteorologist Darin Figurskey says seasonal weather changes can cause twisters to develop during the spring and summer months.
"While people hear about the great big, mile-wide wedge tornadoes in the Plains States, we certainly in the past had our strong ones, and certainly in the last few years, have had killer tornadoes all across central North Carolina so people need to be prepared any time of the day or night."
State officials will issue safety information all week that detail how residents should prepare for severe weather like floods, lightning and hail storms.