Tornados and what to do....

If you have time to move any all outdoor items t hat might blow away in a strong wind now is the time to do so... patio furniture, garbage cans etc.

I start canceling evening appointments if needed. Turn the tv on the local weather channel and leave it so you can hear weather alerts from the news station if you are home.

Bring in all breakables and things that could be flying debris. Go to the basement, take kids/pets/spouse, water, snacks, a weather radio, or computer/phone to keep up with what's going on, a flash light, and things to keep you busy.


Stay safe!

From NOAA - What to do in Tornado & Signs of a Tornado

Our house is a single story with no basement and we've agreed to go to a small walk-in closet that is in the interior of the house away from windows. Fortunately we've never needed to use it for that.

That may, or may not be the case, but tornadoes in TX are plentiful, and I have seen a LOT of destruction, and death (Not personally, but too close for comfort). I'd so much rather them be overly dramatic/cautious, than to not give us much warning at all.

We get tornadoes, but mostly hurricanes. My guess is that some of the prep is exactly the same. Clean up the yard-pick up all things that can fly. Put away lawn furniture. 

Put away at least 72 hours of food, water, medication, and whatever else you think you will need along with copies of important banking and insurance information. This is important in that even you don't damage, it is possible that you could be stuck at home for a few days before FEMA or other emergency services can get to you. What ever food you choose, make sure it is shelf stable. If you have food that needs to be cooked (like beans/rice) make sure that your emergency kit has a method in which to cook those foods-like a camp stove with fuel. I keep a french press in my kit so that all I have to do is boil the water (on the camp stove) and I have coffee. 

Keep a hand cranked radio in your kit and a corded phone (if you have a home phone.) Remember that if you lose power, cordless phones won't work, but the old timey corded ones will. 

And bleach. Never underestimate the need for straight bleach. From cleaning surfaces to purifying water...  

All that will fit in a laundry basket or two and is easy to store in your safe spot-and some of my stuff I keep in a big cooler. With a hurricane, I have time to run to the store for a couple of bags of ice to keep some items in the cooler so I won't lose the milk and cheese and whatnot. I rotate my stuff every year for hurricane season and it is almost always ready to go. 

I grew up in Illinois and went through several nearby tornadoes/dozens of tornado warnings in my first 30 years.

They don't compare to the Texas weather at all. It is so much more unpredictable here and just forms out of nowhere. I assume this is true for Oklahoma/Kansas too. Plus, almost everyone with a single family home in IL had a basement - pretty much no one does in N. Texas.

Other people have given great tips. We went through a major hail storm 2 weeks ago (hail the size of softballs) and are in the same line of expected severe weather, so I'm getting my stuff together. In addition to what others have said about bringing stuff in from outside, having flashlight/water/etc, here are some other things I'm choosing to do:
- I'm putting 2 of my husband's motorcycle helmets in the bathroom that will be our "safe room" if the weather turns severe, in addition to the blankets and pillows.

- I have the carrier ready for the cat and will grab him if things start to look severe or I see dark red/purple on the map headed our way. If your pets hide, secure them even earlier.

- Close blinds (prevents the glass from making an even bigger mess if broken) and doors in the house (the more layers between you and flying objects, the better - everything helps). There's no downside to this, easy to undo once the threat passes. 

- I'll be keeping tennis shoes and jeans on this evening once the storms start. If there is damage, you want to have your feet and legs fully protected. Probably will grab our work gloves out of the garage too and have those handy. They were a must have when we were cleaning up the broken glass. Even if your house isn't majorly damaged, there can be debris and other dangerous things around, so make sure you can get to that protective equipment quickly. Have duct tape and some plastic on hand.

- I personally like to monitor multiple sources for information - radar, Facebook Weather groups, and we have a weather radio (which I didn't have on 2 weeks ago but will tonight). The take shelter sirens (which are not tornado sirens, that is dumb) went off 10 minutes after the worst of the storm hit our house. Not very helpful.

- If you can get your cars in the garage, do so. Lots and lots of totaled cars here, and while insurance is covering it (if you have full coverage), a lot of people were caught in a bad spot because their cars became undriveable with broken windows and windshields, and it is taking weeks to get glass companies out here because there is so much work. If they're calling for hail and you don't have a garage, I'd at least probably cover my windshield with a thick blanket - if your windshield isn't broken, you can at least get around somewhat. A blanket wouldn't have stopped the hail that hit here, but smaller hail it could help.

- Keep your phone fully charged.

- I also made sure all my laundry, dishes, etc are done today. If we lose power or have lots of damage to repair, I don't need the additional hassle of running out of clean underwear or having dishes piling up in the sink, you know? I'm kind of paranoid about keeping that stuff done though, ever since my MIL passed away unexpectedly and I had 3 - 4 loads of laundry backed up. DH wanted to get on the road right away, and packing dirty clothes and then doing laundry when we got there was just such a hassle and drag I didn't need right then. So now I really try to stay on top of it, but especially if I think there might be an emergency/loss of power/major time suck coming up.

2 weeks ago, our damages were actually quite minor compared to a lot of people's (2 windows that broke through all the way, 3 others outside panes broken, damage to the roof), and it took us 2 solid evenings of work to clean up the mess and get the windows boarded to where we felt secure. And that's with no kids or other distractions and two able-bodied adults. Being prepared for possible clean up/immediate securing of property now looms in my mind almost as much as staying physically safe.

We are currently under "alerts" -- they don't mean much of anything. Later today, we will probably be under a "watch" - which means that conditions are such that powerful weather could occur -- a warning is when "weather" is seen -- too often these days by radar -- or by trained weather spotters -- which usually means on the ground.

Do NOT spend the whole day in a tizzy -- just be "weather aware". If you do a little preparation now, then, should the time come, you will be calmer.

SHOES -- you need to have shoes, best ON YOUR FEET. Shoes for everyone.
I load my briefcase (and maybe a tote bag) with what I need from my office (important papers - they live in an easy to pack plastic envelope, one per person and another for general papers, back up hard disk, phone, ipad, chargers) and put that with my purse at the top of the stairs -- where a flashlight also lives. I can get there without lights, grab everything at the top of the stairs and be in the basement pretty quickly. I need to get some outdoor gloves into this process.
I don't worry about food or entertainment -- tornadoes are really pretty quick. Should anything happen, I live in a vital and helpful neighborhood, my son isn't too far away

I'm pretty laid back about all this these days. I'll look up the radar and see where there is "weather" if I hear the sirens. But I also listen to how I "feel" about it. Last night the weather was making me edgy for some reason .... so I got up, dressed and checked the TV and the internet for weather info. I stayed up until the squall line had gone through -- weather radar on my phone is great - my house is a flashing blue dot!) then went back to bed.

Yep, if the sky's not yellowish-green, it usually seems to come to nothing (not even hail). The WORST are when there's tornadic weather after dark (pretty rare) because then you can't use the sky as an indicator!



Good lord, we'd spend 2 months a year in the basement! No, warnings mean there are signatures of tornadic/rotational activity, but they may just be in the clouds, not near the ground, in which case they may pass without danger. They've become rather judicious in sounding the sirens so that people actually pay attention and don't just blow them off. They used to be activated whole counties at a time (which is how warnings are often phrased), but now most often are activated only in the specific sectors of a county which are directly in the path of the storm.

Tornado Watch means "watch out." We keep radio/tv on. I listen to local radio in the car so I know if I will have to take cover. We do not cancel plans, but make sure a shelter is available, if needed. Ex: our church has a large basement and I keep my phone on vibrate for NIXLE alerts, so we go to church. I will crate my dogs in the basement if we leave when we have a tornado watch. Keep shoes on your feet and I keep my purse where I can grab on the way down to the basement shelter.

We bought a house with a concrete storm shelter in the basement. Technology is to the point where my radio station can tell you which section of town needs to take cover. We hang out in the basement during a warning and go into the shelter when they announce which part of town needs to take cover. Live your life, but be aware and don't be stupid.

We take shelter on the lowest level of our tri-level house, in a utility closet that's mostly cut into the ground. We keep a weather radio, batteries, flashlights, bottled water and MRE's in a plastic bin in that room. We also have whistles for each family member. In case of a structure collapse, blowing on those whistles might mean that someone could hear us and bring help.

The only time we've ever put those whistles on was five years ago tomorrow, April 27, 2011. An F-5 tornado crossed the entire state of Alabama, and there were plenty of warnings. A lot of those went unheeded, unfortunately.

So be alert, be weather aware. Take shelter when the sirens go off.

I've been thinking about this thread -- maybe due to my unease last night. But -- remember ... better safe than sorry. I think that I can see a lot of us with some experience with tornado weather are a bit blase about the threat. And I don't mean to belittle anyone who is more cautious than me -- because of the potential for harm, I should probably be more cautious. Mother Nature has a mean streak and we shouldn't forget it.

Get shoes. Get some gloves (rather like shoes for yours hands -- and for the same reason. If you need to dig yourself and your family out of rubble, you'll be glad for both the shoes for your feet and gloves for your hands!) Get a good idea of distances, streets, where you are in relation to the rest of the town and county, and what else is around you and your neighborhood. I use the weather channel app on my phone and back it up with the app that came with my phone. Be smart. Be safe! No need to be crazy scared!

Tennis shoes on everyone (or next to the bed - after living near ground zero of the Northridge, CA quake this was a habit I kept for the rest of my years in CA)
Leash on the dog and cat in the carrier
Gloves and tools in our safe room
Red Cross backpacks (one for each person)
Weather radio
All electronics charged
Bike helmets for everyone (my family rolls their eyes at this one, but I don't care!)

I am a North Texas Pea ready for tonight's storms!