The proclamation signed by Gov. Pat McCrory advises North Carolinians to be on the lookout for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms as the spring season approaches. A tornado drill will take place this Wednesday at schools and government buildings so officials can rehearse emergency plans. Last year 60 tornado warnings were issued by the National Weather Service in North Carolina. Twenty-one tornadoes were recorded that injured 22 people and caused over $19 million in damages. There were over 1200 incidents of severe thunderstorms which killed six and injured 46 others. A press release from the Governor’s Office says while county and state emergency managers are ready to respond to any disaster, the Governor encourages citizens to go ahead and make plans for severe weather. I’m George Olsen.
George Olsen is a 1977 Havelock High School graduate. He received his B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from the University of South Carolina in 1982 where he got his first taste of non-commercial radio working for their student station WUSC. After graduation he worked about five years in commercial radio before coming to work at Public Radio East where he has remained since outside of a nearly 3-year stint as jazz and operations coordinator at WUAL in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in the early 1990s. On his return to eastern North Carolina he hosted classical music for Public Radio East before moving into the Morning Edition host position and now can be heard on All Things Considered. He also hosts and produces The Sound, five hours of Americana, Roots Rock and Contemporary Folk weekday evenings on PRE Public Radio East News & Ideas, and is a news and feature producer for Public Radio East.