HOPE – Hempstead County and the City of Hope have been alerted to the possibility of severe weather this evening and overnight tonight. Damaging winds, tornadoes (some of which will be strong), large hail, and locally heavy rainfall will be possible. Localized flash flooding will be possible as well. Please stay informed of the local weather outlook and consider your own emergency weather preparedness plans.
In the event of dangerous weather, please shelter in place unless you have a severe injury. Both the Hempstead County Courthouse basement and Beryl Henry School Gym/Storm Shelter will be available for use if necessary. Please reserve the use of 911 services for a true emergency. Emergency call response will be prioritized. Your community responders will be active in this event and working diligently to restore power and roadway access in the event of outages or downed trees and debris.
Please do not try to travel in severe weather. Do not drive in flooded or possibly flooded areas. Flash flooding conditions can be difficult to recognize and extreme care should be taken if travel is absolutely unavoidable.