Severe Weather Awareness Week is April 13-17, 2026 in South Dakota. Yankton County Office of Emergency Management along with the Yankton dispatch center we will be running a mock tornado drill on April 15th. At 1000 hrs. on April 15th the dispatch center will page all emergency service in the county that we are in a mock tornado watch. Then at 1015 hrs. there will be a mock tornado warning issued and the sirens will be activated. The sirens will run the full 3 minutes during this time. The purpose of this is to ensure that the sirens are working properly. Other reasons for this mock drill is to let schools, hospitals, facilities, factories, and residents time to practice their severe weather plans if they so choose. Throughout the week we will be posting information about severe weather safety and other information.
Yankton County Office of Emergency Management will host a training opportunity with the National Weather Service. The National Weather Service in Sioux Falls will once again host our annual severe weather awareness training April 15th 2026 at 1830hrs. This 1.5 to 2 hour class is a great opportunity to learn more about severe weather, how to spot and report severe weather for your community, and how to stay safe during the warmer months ahead. The training will be held at Yankton Fire Station #2 at 201 W. 23rd St Yankton SD.
