Home • Contact Us • Jobs • Links • Search • Sitemap

Severe Weather - Tornadoes   Teach Your Children about Tornados Here

Plan Ahead for Severe Weather

You can take precautions to assist yourself and your family in the event of a tornado.
Periodically hold a tornado drill so that family members know what to do and where to go if advised to take shelter. Be aware that while emergency sirens will warn of approaching danger, a local news-oriented television or radio station will be the best source of information regarding the proximity of the danger to your location and the necessity for precautionary actions.

The safest part of any building during a tornado traditionally is the basement. If no basement is available, interior bathrooms, hallways and closets on the ground floor also offer protection from tornado winds. Avoid windows and exterior walls. Take along blankets or sleeping bags to protect yourself from falling debris and shattering glass, which are frequently the cause of death and injury during a tornado.

Make certain you have a portable radio and several flashlights (and fresh batteries for both) as well as bottled water, extra prescription medications and a first aid kit in your shelter area.

Mobile homes and automobiles are dangerous places to be during a tornado. If you live in a mobile home, make sure all family members know where the nearest substantial shelter is. If you are in your mobile home or car and cannot get to better shelter, go outside, lie down in the nearest ravine, ditch or culvert and cover your head with your hands. Be aware of the possibility of flooding in low-lying areas. Do not hide under your mobile home or car because both can easily be picked up and carried away by tornado winds.

Basic Tornado Information

• Tornadoes can occur any place in the United States at any time of the year. They happen most frequently in the Midwestern, Southern and Central States from March through September.

• Tornado “weather” can be hot, sticky days with southerly winds and a threatening ominous sky. Familiar thunderstorm clouds are present. An hour or two before a tornado, topsy-turvy clouds appear sometimes bulging down instead of up. The clouds often have a greenish-black color. Rain or hail frequently precedes the tornado.

• Tornadoes occur mostly between 3 and 7 p.m., but they have occurred at all hours.

• Tornadoes in most cases move from a westerly direction, usually from the southwest. The tornado’s path is usually 10-40 miles (the average length is 16 miles), but they may move forward for 300 miles. The average width of the path is about 400 yards, but they have cut swaths over a mile in width. Speeds within the tornado have been estimated at 500 mph.

• Tornadoes cause destruction with violent winds which uproot trees, destroy buildings, and which create a serious hazard from objects blown through the air.

Tornado Preparedness

• Learn the tornado safety rules given in this publication.

• Maintain a tone-alert weather radio to follow weather conditions and to receive local warnings.

• Turn on local radio or television stations for information on weather and tornado conditions.

• Call 9-1-1 only to request emergency assistance.

• Keep calm and help prevent public excitement and panic.

• Establish emergency plans for every school, church, hospital, hotel, business, house, industry, and trailer park.

Remember

Tornado Watch: Means tornadoes may develop in the area.
Tornado Warning: Means a tornado has been sighted in the area.
Sirens: When the sirens sound, turn on your radio or TV for information.
 

Safety Rules: When a Tornado is Sighted

If Outdoors:

• Seek indoor shelter if time permits; if not, get into a ditch, ravine, or low-lying area.

• If in a vehicle, park the vehicle and get into a ditch or ravine. A vehicle offers no protection from a tornado.

In a House:

• In houses, the basement offers the best protection.

• In houses without basements, go to the center hallway, bathroom, or closet on the lower floor.

• Stay away from windows – get under heavy furniture.

In Apartments:

• Move to the center hallway, bathroom, or closet.

• Stay away from windows – get under heavy furniture if possible.

In Mobile Homes:

• Mobile homes are particularly vulnerable to overturning during strong winds and offer no shelter. Leave mobile home. Seek mobile home trailer park shelter if available. Otherwise, look for a ditch, culvert, or low-lying area.

In Schools:

• Move to central hallways. Avoid gymnasiums and auditoriums with large, poorly supported roofs. Stay away from windows. Follow the instructions of the principal.

In High-Rise Buildings:

• Move to the center of the building, the hallway or stairways. Avoid areas with large amounts of glass.

In Industrial Plants or Warehouses:

• Move to an area that has interior walls. Avoid windows. Avoid areas with clear-span, lightly supported roofs. Follow company policy.

In Shopping Centers:

• Stay indoors. Stay away from glass. Move to an interior area close to interior walls. Sit on floors to avoid flying debris.

General

• Keep calm. It will not help to get excited. People have been killed by running out into streets.

• Even though a warning is issued, chances of a tornado striking one’s home or location are very slight. Tornadoes cover such a small zone, as a rule, that relatively few places in a warned area are directly affected.

• Keep tuned to your radio or television station for latest tornado advisory information.