Warren County is now part of a StormReady state.

The National Weather Service recognized Pennsylvania on Wednesday as only the sixth state in the nation to have every county be StormReady certified.

“StormReady counties… are better prepared to save lives from the onslaught of severe weather through advanced planning, education and awareness. No community is storm proof, but StormReady can help communities save lives,” according to the National Weather Service. “StormReady uses a grassroots approach to help communities develop plans to handle all types of extreme weather–from tornadoes to winter storms.”

Warren County has been certified since 2012 and was last recertified in 2018.

The last county just came on board this year. “The entire state is now participating,” Warren County Emergency Management Agency Deputy Director Scott Rose said. “Everybody is on the same page.”

There are a number of requirements counties had to meet in order to be certified.

“You have to show that your 911 center has so many ways of (alert and warning) notification — phone, computers, weather radios, amateur radio,” Rose said.

Warren County’s reverse 911 system checks another box for passing on emergency warnings.

The designation also requires that counties have lists and are able to contact buildings like schools and day care centers that have high populations.

The county is tied in with local fire departments and can utilize their sirens.

“You have to show that you’ve exercised those at least once a year,” Rose said.

The county has hosted SkyWarn classes — another requirement — “to try and bolster the number of spotters that are out there,” he said.

“We have to host annual safety talks,” Rose said. It does so by participating in Safety Day at Lowe’s and through the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC).

“We are required to do at least one exercise a year,” he said.

The county holds an annual weather exercise.