Prepare for Today's Emegency... Tomorrow

Severe weather is expected in this area late tonight and early tomorrow as the system that hit the midwest this weekend is expected to move across our area. This public information statement was at the bottom of my local forecast page on Weather Underground:

"Governor tim kaine has proclaimed tomorrow... Tuesday March 14 2006
as tornado preparedness day in the commonwealth of Virginia. At
945 am tomorrow... the National Weather Service will conduct a
statewide tornado drill. All National Weather Service offices
serving Virginia will issue drill tornado warnings at that time. The
purpose of this drill is to provide schools... businesses and
residents of the commonwealth with the opportunity to activate and
test their emergency plans for tornadoes. Should severe weather
threaten Virginia on March 14th... the tornado drill will be
postponed until 945 am Wednesday March 15th."

Now, is it just me, or should this drill have been held today? You know, before the storms are expected, to be sure that everything is working. I realize this is kind of an indirect way of getting people to prepare for the real storms since they have to check their equipment prior to the drill, but can't they just say "get ready for the storms"? Are people more likely to prepare for a drill than the real thing?