Tornadoes and Other Windstorms

Tornadoes are Mother Nature’s most feared events because they are her most destructive force.

Don’t wait for a warning! The more ready for emergency your home/business is, the safer you are; second, any thunderstorm can produce tornadoes.

Tornado WATCH:

Conditions are right for tornadoes to form in the listed area. Pay close attention to the situation.

Tornado WARNING:

Tornadic activity has been spotted by qualified personnel or on radar in the warned area.  Take cover immediately!

• Don’t try to put together any supplies at this point; the time to make a disaster kit was before the disaster!
• Likewise, this is no time to be guessing where to go.  Knowing this in advance is a key part of the disaster plan you should have already put together.
• If you don’t have a tornado shelter as such, your best inside bet is a basement, followed by an interior room on the building’s lowest level.  Do not stop to open windows; if your safest place has windows and/or exterior doors, keep as far from them as possible.
• If you see a funnel, and if communication is possible after you reach shelter, notify the authorities.
• If you’re outside – including in a vehicle – when you hear a warning or see a funnel, find a ditch or depression, lie flat in it and cover your head with your hands.
• Straight-line winds, or downbursts, are different from tornadoes but can be just as destructive.  This is another reason to take a severe thunderstorm watch or warning just as seriously as you would a tornado advisory.