Austin weather: Preparing for severe weather season

AUSTIN, Texas - Spring is here, and that means it is time to gear up for severe weather season in central Texas.

From hail to flash flooding, even tornadoes, our area sees it all.

FOX 7 Austin's John Krinjak caught up with Ken Snipes, Austin's top emergency management official, about what you should do to be prepared.

JOHN KRINJAK: We are here with Austin's director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Ken Snipes. Director Snipes, thanks for being here. We appreciate it.

KEN SNIPES: Absolutely. Thank you for having me.

JOHN KRINJAK: So we are at the end of March. Spring has sprung. Talk about the importance of people being prepared for severe weather, particularly this time of year.

KEN SNIPES: Well, we want people to pay particular attention to the weather conditions as it relates to flooding. That's the focus for this time of year. It's really important that people understand that they should have a kit at home. They should be prepared to evacuate if necessary, are ready to go when told to do so. And we also want to remind people that, at low water crossings, not to cross those, and not to drive around barricades. And the message there is turn around, don't drown.

JOHN KRINJAK: And it's really March, April, May that we really see that kind of storm after storm after storm, potentially. Right?

KEN SNIPES: Right. So, historically, here in central Texas, in the Austin area specifically, this time of year tends to produce fickle weather, right? We tend to see lots of rain, or we see hail storms this time of year. And so those are the things that we want people to be on the lookout for.

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JOHN KRINJAK: We saw all these agencies kind of coming together to really get this message out this week. What is the city doing behind the scenes to make sure all these first responders and all these agencies are prepared?

KEN SNIPES: Well, the public safety professionals are ready to respond if necessary. But what we're asking people to do is not create a situation, and not necessarily, create a response from our public safety officials. And so we want to remind people, again, to be prepared, and not put themselves in harm's way.

JOHN KRINJAK: Going back to the turn around, don't drown. It sounds like a cliché. But it seems year after year, we see people that try to drive through water sometimes. You know, EMS we've seen has had to respond to people whose cars get swept away. When you approach one of those low water crossings, what do people really need to remember here?

KEN SNIPES: People need to remember that as little as six inches of water can sweep cars off of the roadway. And that's why we, again, encourage people to stay away from those locations and to turn around and not drown.

JOHN KRINJAK: And obviously, people need to know if they're in a floodplain, right. Even before the forecast says, you know, we're going to see a storm. There are steps people can be taking, you know, get an emergency kit together, things like that. Right?

KEN SNIPES: Right. Get an emergency kit together. Make sure you have an evacuation plan for yourself and for your family. Make sure you communicate that plan to your family. And make sure that everyone understands what they're going to do if they see those circumstances, so there's no confusion when you really need to implement your plan.

JOHN KRINJAK: And if people want to learn more just about what they can do to be prepared, where can they go?

KEN SNIPES: To learn more about how to get prepared, go to readycentraltexas.org.