Courtesy Photo | Maneuver Support Center of Excellence building Jan. 7, 2025 following winter weather...... read more read more
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — Fort Leonard Wood’s Destructive Weather Mitigation Operations program, commonly called DWMO, is designed to help the community navigate any weather hazard Mother Nature produces — this time of year, the program’s primary focus is on cold temperatures, snow, freezing rain and ice hazard readiness.
“Keeping the Fort Leonard Wood community informed of hazardous weather allows them time to better prepare for and stay safe during the incident at hand,” said Timothy Mann, Installation Operations Center chief with Fort Leonard Wood’s Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security.
DPTMS Installation Emergency Manager Matthew Mertz said the purpose of DWMO is to prevent, mitigate, prepare, respond and recover from the effects of destructive weather.
“Ultimately, DWMO ensures the installation is able to respond to destructive weather events with minimal impact on the installation’s mission and the lives of the installation’s residents and workforce,” Mertz said.
DWMO is a cooperative effort between the installation’s garrison directorates and brigade assets. It is facilitated by DPTMS. Compiled weather information is provided by Forney Airfield meteorologists and the National Weather Service.
Mertz said meteorologists located at Fort Leonard Wood’s Forney Airfield monitor the weather 24/7 to provide the community real-time weather changes and impacts to the installation.
According to Mertz, the Fort Leonard Wood Weather and Hazardous Conditions page is updated at 4 a.m., every day year-round and as conditions change.
Another source of information is the Missouri Department of Transportation web page. Visitors to this site can click on the traveler info map and the icon for traffic cameras on the left of the page to select an area of I-44 to view live.
Common Access Cardholders, their family members, long-term contractors, private organizations and tenants on the installation can also receive notifications on their phones via the ALERT! Mass Warning Notification System. Instructions for setting up ALERT! notifications can be found on Fort Leonard Wood’s Weather and Hazardous Conditions page.
Other notification tools include Fort Leonard Wood’s giant voice speakers and Facebook page.
According to Mann, Fort Leonard Wood’s warning systems are tested monthly throughout the year.
“We run scheduled Monthly Mass Warning Notifications tests for the community. This test includes the outdoor sirens, indoor sirens and strobes, and the Alert! System,” Mann said. “We also do a review of all of our communication rosters, procedures and conduct internal drills to test all of them.”
According to Mertz, Fort Leonard Wood experiences the most DWMO events between December and February due to precipitation during freezing temperatures and the potential for ice accumulation resulting in hazardous driving conditions.
“Hazardous driving conditions are not the only weather threats,” he said. “Freezing temperatures can cause pipes to freeze, bursting water pipes and impacting facility operations. High winds and ice on power lines can cause power outages and homes can lose heat, which would require the establishment of warming shelters.”
According to the Missouri Department of Transportation, Missouri typically receives 8 to 24 inches of snow annually.
“Regardless of where you are from prior to your arrival at Fort Leonard Wood and your experience with winter driving, do not take chances during hazardous driving conditions,” Mertz said. “During icy road conditions, follow all notifications provided by the installation, reduce driving speeds during hazardous conditions and communicate with your supervisor if you do not feel comfortable driving during hazardous weather conditions.”
Mann agreed and said there are a few things motorists can do to stay safe on Missouri’s roads during winter weather events.
“Ensure your vehicle has been maintained and ready for winter hazardous weather. Ensure your vehicle winter weather kit in it. Ensure you take all appropriate actions while driving on snowy and icy roads,” Mann said. “Clear your vehicle of snow and ice, allow extra time for travel, reduce speed, increase distance between vehicles, and avoid sudden braking and accelerating.”
| Date Taken: | 11.25.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 11.25.2025 08:45 |
| Story ID: | 552313 |
| Location: | FORT LEONARD WOOD, MISSOURI, US |
| Web Views: | 22 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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