Severe Weather Safety Tips
Before the Storm
• Develop a plan for you and your family for home, work, school, and when outdoors.
• Have a NOAA Weather Radio with a warning alarm and battery back-up to receive warnings.
• Designate a shelter area in your home. Basements or storm cellars are the safest. Otherwise, use an interior room or hallway on the ground floor.
• When planning a trip, listen to the latest forecasts and take necessary action.
Thunderstorm Safety Tips
• Get or stay inside if, after seeing lightning, you cannot count to 30 before hearing thunder.
• If swimming or boating, get out of the water immediately and take shelter.
• When caught in an open area, move to a low spot such as a ravine or valley, but beware of flash flooding.
• If you see or hear a thunderstorm coming, get inside a sturdy building or car.
• Feeling your hair stand on end means lightning is about to strike nearby. Make yourself into a small target. Squat down on the balls of your feet – do not lie flat on the ground. Place your hands over your ears and tuck your head between your knees.
• If you come upon flood water, turn around don’t drown.
Thunderstorm Warning
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning means there is a severe thunderstorm in the area. Stay indoors. Monitor local weather broadcasts for current information. Lightning, large hail, high winds, blowing debris and flooding are possible.
REMEMBER: Tornados can form during thunderstorms.
Tornado Safety Tips
• Be prepared to take shelter at any time, since some tornadoes develop so quickly that advance warning is impossible.
• Watch the sky for funnel-shaped clouds and pay attention to tornado danger signs – dark, greenish sky, large hail and a loud roar similar to a freight train.
• If you live a mobile home, find a sturdy building nearby where you can take shelter. Mobile homes offer little protection in a tornado.
• Stay away from windows.
• Know the locations of designated shelter areas in places like schools and shopping centers.
• Head for the designated shelter or a central area on the lowest floor of the building.
• Do not try to outrun a tornado in your car. If caught outside or in a vehicle, as a last resort lie flat in a ditch or depression.
• Stay out of large flat roof buildings with open areas such as supermarkets or shopping malls.
• Watch out for debris – especially broken glass – and downed electrical lines.
• Be careful when entering a tornado damaged building. Make sure the walls and roof are in place and the foundation is sound.
Tornado Warning
A Tornado Warning means that a tornado is occurring or likely to occur. Take shelter immediately. Listen to your local TV or radio for weather updates.
