TORNADOES

Is a Tornado Coming? What To Look and Hear For

Here’s what some tornado survivors recall seeing and hearing before a tornado hits

• The sound of a freight train racing down the tracks
• Very dark sky, often with a dark-green tint.
• Rotating dark cloud.
• A wall cloud.

Tornado Watch Versus Warning. Know the Difference.

Tornado Watch means, the National Weather Service thinks coniditions exist that could create a tornado. Unlike

Tornado Warning means something bad has actually been spotted and you better take notice, get out of the way if possible, or take shelter in a safe place.

What To Do If You’re Caught In A Tornado.

This advice below comes from the National Weather Service, FEMA, along with several other Tornado sites, including  my annotations from having interviewed scores of tornado survivors.

The key thing to remember is that in a tornado you want to put something between you and tornado debris (walls and floors, for example), and you want to get as low to the ground as possible so any debris flies over your head. Keeping this in mind will help understand why the advice is written like it is.

• If you are in a home or building, move to a pre-designated shelter, such as a basement.
• If an underground shelter is not available, move to an interior room or hallway on the lowest floor and get under a sturdy piece of furniture.
• Stay away from windows. Debris become missiles in a tornado and you don’t want to be near a window if a brick comes flying through it.
• If you are caught outdoors, seek shelter in a basement, shelter or sturdy building.  Important: Why are you in your basement? You’re getting low, and out of the way of tornado debris. That’s the good part. The scary part is that the whole house is now on top of you. If you go to the basement, take shelter under something like a mattress, work bench, or sturdy table. Don’t hide under, say, the kitchen where the oven or fridge could come crashing down on you.
• If you cannot quickly walk to a shelter:
  • Immediately get into a vehicle, buckle your seat belt and try to drive to the closest sturdy shelter.
  • If flying debris hits your vehicle while you are driving, pull over and park.
    Now you have the following options as a last resort:
  • Stay in the car with the seat belt on. Put your head down below the windows, covering with your hands and a blanket if possible.
  • If you can safely get noticeably lower than the level of the roadway (a ditch, or gulley, for example), exit your car and lie in that area, covering your head with your hands.
  • Your choice should be driven by your specific circumstances.
• Mobile homes, even if tied down, offer little protection from tornadoes and should be abandoned.
• DO NOT TAKE SHELTER UNDER AN OVERPASS. They are deadly. In fact, these might be one of the most deadly places to be in a tornado. Anybody with cable television has seen enough tornado storm stories to know that they’re always seems to be somebody riding out the storm under the bridge of an overpass. It seems logical at first. A tornado is coming, and this overpass might prevent you from being sucked up into it. In fact, it keeps you elevated, and exposed to all sorts of flying debris. Research suggests most people who take shelter in these overpasses end up getting blown out of them if a tornado actually passes through.