Weathering The Storm

The National Weather Service estimates that approximately 1000 tornadoes are reported in the United States each year. The good news is that most tornadoes touch down in rural areas, away from homes and buildings. Unfortunately, tornadoes do occasionally strike inhabited areas, even taking human lives.

With proper preparation, and awareness, it's possible to minimize the threat posed by tornadoes and severe thunderstorms. The following guidelines are reprinted by permission of the American Red Cross.

Prepare A Home Tornado Plan

• Pick a place where family members can gather if a tornado is headed your way. It could be your basement or, if there is no basement, a center hallway, bathroom, or closet on the lowest floor. Keep this place uncluttered.
• If you are in a high-rise building, you may have enough time to go to the lowest floor. Pick a place in a hallway in the center of the building.
• Assemble a Tornado Safety Kit, containing:
  • First aid kit and essential medications.
  • Battery-powered radio, flashlight, and extra batteries.
  • Canned food and hand-operated can opener.
  • Bottled water.
  • Candles and matches.
  • Sturdy shoes and work gloves.
• Also include written instructions on how to turn off your home's utilities.
• Conduct periodic tornado drills, so everyone remembers what to do in the event a tornado strikes.

Stay Tuned for Storm Warnings

• Listen to your local radio and TV stations for updated storm information.
• Know the meanings of the terms tornado watch and tornado warning.
• A tornado watch means a tornado is possible in your area.
• A tornado warning means a tornado has been sighted and may be headed for your area. Go to safety immediately.
• Tornado watches and warnings are issued by the county or parish.

What to Do if a WATCH is Issued

• Listen to local radio and TV stations for further updates.
• Be alert to changing weather conditions. Blowing debris or the sound of an approaching tornado may alert you.

What to Do if A WARNING is Issued

• If you are inside, go to the safe place you selected to protect yourself from glass and other flying objects. The tornado may be approaching your area.
• If you are outside, hurry to the basement of a nearby sturdy building or lie flat in a ditch or low-lying area.
• If you are in a car or mobile home, get out immediately and head for safety (see above).

After A Tornado Passes

• Watch out for fallen power lines and do not venture into the damaged area.
• Listen to the radio for information and instructions.
• Use a flashlight to inspect your home for damage.

Warning Signs Reported by Tornado Eyewitnesses

• A sickly, dark-green color to the sky.
• The fall of hail should be a real danger sign, especially in the event that a watch or warning has been issued.
• A strange quiet that occurs within or shortly after a thunderstorm.
• Clouds move very quickly overhead, especially in a rotating pattern or converging toward one area in the sky.
• A sound that resembles a waterfall or rushing air at first, and then turns into a roar as a tornado comes closer (some say it sounds like a freight train or jet plane).
• Debris drops from the sky.
• A funnel-shaped cloud that is rotating, or debris such as branches or leaves being pulled upwards (even if no funnel cloud is visible).