Tornado Safety Tips

The following tornado safety tips will help to guide you on what to do before a tornado.



Follow these tornado safety tips:

• Be alert to changing weather conditions.
  
  
• Listen to NOAA Weather Radio or to commercial radio or television newscasts for the latest information on a tornado watch.
  
  
• Look for approaching storms

Look for the following danger signs:

• Dark, often greenish sky
  
  
• Large hail
  
  
• A large, dark, low-lying cloud (particularly if rotating)
  
  
• Loud roar, similar to a freight train.

If you see approaching storms or any of the danger signs, be prepared to go into a tornado shelter immediately.



Know Your Tornado Terms

Familiarize yourself with these terms to help identify a tornado hazard:

Tornado Watch
Tornadoes are possible. Remain alert for approaching storms. Watch the sky and stay tuned to NOAA Weather Radio, commercial radio, or television for information.

Tornado Warning
A tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar. Take shelter immediately!

The following are guidelines for what to do during a tornado

If you are under a tornado WARNING, seek shelter immediately!

If you are in a structure:
(e.g. residence, small building, school, nursing home, hospital, factory, shopping center, high-rise building)

• Go to a pre-designated shelter area such as a safe room, basement, storm cellar, or the lowest building level.
  
  
• If there is no basement, go to the center of an interior room on the lowest level (closet, interior hallway) away from corners, windows, doors, and outside walls.
  
  
• Put as many walls as possible between you and the outside.
  
  
• Get under a sturdy table and use your arms to protect your head and neck.
  
  
• Do not open windows.

If you are in a vehicle, trailer, or mobile home

• Get out immediately and go to the lowest floor of a sturdy, nearby building or a tornado shelter. Mobile homes, even if tied down, offer little protection from tornadoes.

If you are outside with no shelter

• Lie flat in a nearby ditch or depression and cover your head with your hands. Be aware of the potential for flooding.
  
  
• Do not get under an overpass or bridge. You are safer in a low, flat location.
  
  
• Never try to outrun a tornado in urban or congested areas in a car or truck. Instead, leave the vehicle immediately for safe shelter.
  
  
• Watch out for flying debris. Flying debris from tornadoes causes most fatalities and injuries.

Next page - What to do after a tornado

The information on tornado safety tips is provided by FEMA.

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