We all hope severe weather passes us by, but eventually everyone’s life is touched by a storm of some kind whether a tornado, flood, wind damage or snow and sleet.

This is Severe Weather Week as announced by the National Weather Service. It’s time to pay attention to things we can do to protect ourselves when Mother Nature unleashes her fury. Begun in 1974 after the April 3-4 super-outbreak of tornadoes, this week has been observed each year as part of a continuing commitment to improve severe weather awareness. On April 3-4 weather service stations throughout the Midwest, South and East reported 148 tornadoes of intensities never before recorded in the United States, injuring more than 5,000 people and killing 315.

The Selma Times-Journal in partnership with the Dallas County Commission and the City of Selma has distributed a booklet in your home edition about what to do when storms strike. Additionally, The Selma Times-Journal will publish a story each day based on the theme of the day distributed by the weather service and the Dallas County Emergency Management Agency. The key here is taking a few minutes to educate yourself about severe weather procedures to be prepared. Those few minutes could save your life or the life of someone else.

Some steps to take:

Make sure you receive severe weather watches and warnings by television, Internet or radio.

Do not depend on outdoor warning sirens alone. That are not intended to be heard inside a building.

Purchase a NOAA weather radio

Recognize weather-related dangers, such as lightning and flooding.

Know the difference between a watch and a warning.