The Smith County commissioners accept their StormReady award from the National Weather Service on Tuesday.

Smith County on Tuesday was named by the National Weather Service a certified StormReady community, meaning the county is adequately prepared when severe storms hit.

Jason Hansford, a senior meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Shreveport, said during the Smith County Commissioners Court meeting over the last several years he has been working to get numerous areas certified as StormReady, and he is proud to certify Smith County.

A goal of naming areas as StormReady is to make citizens more aware their area is prepared to handle storms, Hansford said.

“Our main mission out at the National Weather Service is to protect lives and property,” he said.

Smith County succeeded in meeting the requirements back in 2019, but due to COVID-19, the short ceremony had to be postponed until now.

A year and a half later, Hansford said he is happy to thank the county, including the help of the Smith County Fire Marshal Jay Brooks, for all they have done to make sure the residents of Smith County are prepared for the threat of hazardous weather.

He added Brooks has been one of the most proactive emergency managers the NWS in Shreveport has ever gotten to work with.

“Being StormReady is our commitment to the citizens of Smith County that we are going to prepare to be ready to handle any emergency situation that we encounter,” Brooks said. “We cannot be merely reactionary when it comes to disasters like severe thunderstorms, flooding and tornadoes. We go through regular trainings and exercises to make sure we are as prepared as we can be for anything that comes our way.”

Smith County Judge Nathaniel Moran said he thinks the motto is fitting for more than just your average storm.

“This county really I think has identified itself as a county that is storm ready no matter what the storm, if it’s COVID or if it’s a tornado, or whatever it is,” Moran said.

The county was presented with a letter certifying Smith County as StormReady, a framed certificate and a sign to hang in a public area for the community to see.

In order to become StormReady certified, several different criteria have to be met. This includes establishing a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center, having more than one way to receive severe weather forecasts and warnings and alerting the public, creating a system that monitors local weather conditions, promoting the importance of public readiness through community seminars and developing a formal hazardous weather plan (including training severe weather spotters and holding emergency exercises).