What To Do If a Severe Thunderstorm Warning is Issued for Your Location

Severe thunderstorms can be as deadly as a tornado. Straight line winds of 58 mph or more can bring down trees or tree limbs on cars, homes or people and flip mobile homes.

A severe thunderstorm warning means that a severe thunderstorm (winds of 58 mph or greater and hail one inch or larger) has been indicated by radar or reported from a reliable source. Remember that severe thunderstorms can and do produce tornadoes with no notice.

If the warning includes your home or work place you should take immediate action to protect your life and the lives of others. Treat severe thunderstorm warnings with the same respect that you give tornado warnings.

Remember that lightning and flash floods ride with severe thunderstorms and can kill too.

If you are caught outdoors seek shelter in a nearby basement, shelter, or sturdy building that can protect you from lightning, large hail, damaging winds, flooding rain and tornadoes.

• If you are caught outdoors seek shelter in a nearby basement, shelter, or sturdy building that can protect you from lightning, large hail, damaging winds, flooding rain and tornadoes.
• If you cannot quickly walk to a shelter, immediately get into a hard top vehicle, buckle your seat belt, and try to drive to the closest sturdy shelter.
• If caught outside, avoid open spaces, isolated objects, high ground and metallic objects.
• Get out of boats and away from bodies of water. Remember, if you can hear thunder, you are close enough to the storm to be struck by lightning.
• Pick a place where family members can gather: the basement, bathroom, an interior hallway or closet on the lowest floor.
• Once in a shelter, stay away from windows and avoid electrical equipment and plumbing.
• Remember to bring pets inside. If there is time, secure loose objects outside as these objects often become dangerous flying debris in high winds.
• Leave mobile homes for sturdier buildings.
• Postpone outdoor activities until the storms have passed.

If a tornado is spotted, act quickly and move to the lowest level basement of your shelter, putting as many walls between yourself and the outside as possible.

Make sure you have a personal severe weather safety plan.

Category: Severe Weather