Each year, people are killed or seriously injured by tornadoes and other types of severe weather, despite advance warning. In May 2013, tornadoes devastated portions of Oklahoma. This outbreak included the deadliest tornado of the year on May 20 in Moore, Oklahoma where an EF5 tornado struck (winds in excess of 200 mph). The Moore tornado is estimated to have caused approximately $2 billion in property damage. Know your risk during National Severe Weather Preparedness Week, March 2-8.

Gather information about hazards by contacting your local emergency management office, American Red Cross chapter and National Weather Service weather forecast office. Knowing and understanding this information ahead of time will help you prepare by understanding what types of disasters could occur and how best to respond and protect yourself. It is also critical to learn your community’s warning signals and emergency plans.

Watches and warnings from the National Weather Service could save your life. Learn the difference between a watch and a warning.

A watch lets you know that weather conditions are favorable for a hazard to occur. It literally means “be on guard!” During a weather watch, gather awareness of the specific threat and prepare for action — monitor the weather to find out if severe weather conditions have deteriorated and prepare to take shelter

A warning requires immediate action. This means a weather hazard is imminent — it is either occurring (a tornado has been spotted, for example) — or it is about to occur. Find safe shelter immediately.

(AP) — Organizers of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s 38th annual Modern Language Fair are calling for entries into the $1,000 scholarship essay contest.

Junior and senior high school students can compete for four $1,000 scholarships in the essay contest. The contest is open to students who will enroll at UNL and declare a major in French, German or Spanish. To enter, students submit a 300-word essay written in Spanish, French or German around this year’s theme: “How will a degree in modern languages help me achieve my future goals?”

The submission deadline is Friday.

The fair will be conducted April 10 in the Nebraska Union, 14th and R streets.

For more details, go online to https://go.unl.edu/abm or contact Shannon Parry at 402-472-7032 or sparry3@unl.edu.

• Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 32. Wind chill values as low as -19. South wind 7 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.
• Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 16. South wind 5 to 8 mph becoming light and variable.
• Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 42. West wind around 6 mph.
• Tuesday Night: A slight chance of rain and snow before 9pm, then a chance of snow. Cloudy, with a low around 18. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
• Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of snow before noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 39. West northwest wind around 6 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
• Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 23.

(AP) — Most Nebraskans are seeing higher heating bills because this winter’s bitter cold weather sent natural gas prices up after more was being consumed.

Natural gas prices are up because of the strong demand.

James Martin of Lincoln says his latest bill of $142 is nearly double the $82 bill he paid at the same time last year.

David Turner says the higher heating cost hurts his budget because his pay hasn’t gone up to cover it.

Black Hills Energy’s Jeff Sylvester says the price increase for natural gas should ease once warmer weather arrives.

The utility that serves about 200,000 customers in eastern Nebraska says this winter has been about 10 percent colder than normal and 23 percent colder than last year.

A 21-year-old North Platte man is facing a felony child abuse charge after a toddler was injured.

Christopher Perez turned himself in to Lincoln County authorities last week.

Authorities say his girlfriend’s 17-month-old son was injured on Feb. 18.

Lexington Police say the boy had bleeding in his skull and several bruises that couldn’t be explained by Perez’s explanation that he fell on top of the toddler.

Doctors in Omaha determined that the boy’s injuries were most likely caused by severe shaking.

Perez was released on $10,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned in court on March 11.

(AP) — Property owners could get a tax break, state parks could get new cabins, and Nebraska could see new flood- and drought-mitigation projects if a series of budget bills become law.

The Legislature’s Appropriations Committee is expected to finish its work this week on changes to the state budget. The tentative package includes $25 million for the state’s property tax credit fund, $17.5 million for deferred park maintenance and $32 million for water projects by the middle of next year.

Sen. Heath Mello, the committee chairman, says lawmakers are working to balance the different state priorities. Lawmakers have avoided tapping the cash reserve for anything other than one-time expenses. Mello says he wants to end the current budget year with at least $643 million in the emergency fund.

(AP) — Nebraskans are bundling up for the latest arctic blast to sweep the state this winter.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for much of the state, and predicts that a winter system starting in the west will bring a couple of inches of new snow to central Nebraska. Parts of eastern Nebraska, including Omaha, could see more than 5 inches of snow by Sunday morning.

The weather service is also warning of dangerous wind chills as the latest system brings with it strong gusts and bitterly cold temperatures.

The service says temperatures are not expected to climb out of the lower teens on Saturday, and overnight temperatures are expected to fall well below zero. Wind chills overnight into Sunday are expected to bottom out around 30-below.

 

A total of $50,000 is available to some landowners in the Nebraska Panhandle for the installation of wildlife-friendly fence on their properties.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will award up to $1,000 per mile to landowners in the Pine Ridge and Oglala Grasslands regions on a first-come, first-served basis. With a signed contract prior to fence construction, landowners will receive funds to help build fences that both border other properties and those within their property’s boundaries. All projects must be completed by Oct. 31.

To be eligible for the program, boundary fences must be no higher than 42 inches and consist of no more than four wires. Interior fences must have no more than three wires at a maximum height of 38 inches.

(AP) — Most of the students who responded to an email survey favored a smoke-free campus at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

A university news release says nearly 1,400 favored the idea, versus 710 who opposed it. Nearly 2,100 of the nearly 7,100 students returned the surveys. The survey was conducted Wednesday and Thursday.

The results will be presented to Chancellor Doug Kristensen.

The Peer Health Education group began exploring the issue in 2012 after receiving Kearney student opinions from a national health survey. They indicated support for a tobacco-free campus.

UNK policy prohibits tobacco use in campus facilities and vehicles and within 10 feet of building entrances.

Similar policies are in place on the university’s Omaha and Lincoln campuses. The University of Nebraska Medical Center has been tobacco-free since 2009.

(AP) — A proposal to increase funding for Nebraska’s property tax credit program has advanced out of a legislative committee.

The Appropriations Committee voted 5-0 on Friday on a bill that would pull an additional $25 million each year out of the state’s general fund.

The fund was created in 2007 to offer property tax relief in Nebraska. It’s expected to receive $113 million from the state’s general fund this year. The amount contributed has stayed flat over the last few years while statewide property values have increased.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Al Davis of Hyannis, told committee members this month that the yearly transfer strikes a balance between property tax relief and allowing the state to pay its bills.