TUMBLR TORNADO SAFETY PSA:

IF YOU'RE ON THE HIGHWAY DURING A TORNADO,

DO NOT TAKE SHELTER UNDERNEATH A HIGHWAY OVERPASS

IT IS MUCH MORE DANGEROUS

Tornado Safety

This year’s tornado season prediction for the united states is looking quite grim, so I decided to make this lil tornado safety post.

Difference between Warning and Watch

First you need to know the different between a tornado warning and a tornado watch. 

A tornado watch means there is a potential risk for tornadoes.

A tornado warning means that server weather as bean spotted.

The real one you know to get going for is the tornado emergency which means that there is truly something heading your way. However you should respond to all of these appropriately, and if one is issued keep watch for the weather.

What to look out for

The calm before the storm is a real thing. The wind may die down, and the air become still. Everything might fall silent for a moment

The sky is turning dark really fast, or green, or both.

A roar similar to that of a distant freight train. Tornado’s sound like freight trains.

Fast moving and rotating clouds, especially if they’re making a funnel shape

Obviously tornado watches escalating for tornado warnings

What to do

Let’s say the tornado warning is now issued, and eventually a tornado is coming your way. What do you do? Well the situation depends on how immediate the danger is, and what your circumstances are.

First let’s start with the “average”  American advice. Go to the lowest level of your home, and hopefully a basement or storm shelter. 

Now if that isn’t an available option, there’s no need to fear or panic. The lowest level of your home is advised. Try an small enclosed room, with low to minimum windows, such as a bathroom, closet, or center hallway.

If you are in a mobile home GET OUT OF THERE. 

WHY DOES THE UNITED STATES HAVE THESE, WHEN THEY’RE OVERPRICED ANYWAY, DEATH TRAPS, AND ITS THE COUNTRY WITH THE HIGHEST TORNADO RATES.

Let’s say there’s nowhere to go.

Go to a safe available nearby building, especially if it has a basement. However if that is still not an option lie in the nearest ditch (I know it sounds crazy but it works) and shield your head/neck with your hands

If taking shelter in a home, make sure everyone is with you. That can include pets, but if you’re in a super emergency situation it is better to leave them and get to shelter as quick as possible.

If you can get low and shield head, or body with a mattress, blanket, etc.

Natural Disaster Safety

Doesn’t matter where you live, you should probably have an emergency kit, especially one attuned to the climate of your area. This doubles if you’re in a natural disaster prone area.

Many of those in the United States have learned lately what the consequences of not having the proper equipment on hand are.

So what should you have for a tornado?

Battery Powered Radio

Flashlight

Extra Batteries

First Aid Kit

Water & Canned Food

Emergency things tailored to people of household (medical problems, etc)

If you live in a cold region also have cold safety materials too

What NOT to do & Extra

Don’t disregard the watches, and especially the warnings. They are there for a reason, and you should really keep an eye out. You might even want to head to shelter anyway if the wind is crazy strong.

Don’t stand near windows, or be that classic midwesterner who is on their porch getting a good shot of that swirly cloud of death. I know its fun...but its not safe.

If the situation is an absolute emergency don’t take time to grab your valuable. Its devastating to lose them, I've been there, but you can replace most tiny things and not a life.

Make sure any invalid family members have their own viable tornado plan. My grandma lives in a tornado prone area, and the plan has completely changed since she’s been confined to a walker. Make sure your family members like that have a plan.

Being in a car during a tornado is not safe at all. Drive to nearest shelter, or get out and hop in that ditch.

If the tornado looks like its standing still, it’s not. That shit is heading towards you.

Always be sure to remember to cover your head, or help shield your children.

Myth Busting

Overpasses are not safe shelter for when you’re in a car. It’s a myth, take that ditch instead if need be, or drive to a shelter.

Hiding under your car is dangerous. Tornados can drop on your car, either crushing you or sucking you up into the air along with your vehicle

Cars cannot outrun tornados

Don’t open your windows. It’s not going to stop the tornado from blowing your house over, instead it may even help it. It will allow for debris to enter your home easier, and cause the wind to be able to tear your house apart from the inside out.

Aftermath

It’s hit now, maybe your house was safe or not. Keep track of watches still, tornados can return, or could be apart of a tornado outbreak, meaning a second or even third tornado can hit the area. 

Assume all downed lines are active and dangerous, try not to use the gas, electricity, and water til you’re sure its safe.

If you’re not home return home once it’s deemed safe

Keep aware of damaged buildings, glass, debris, etc. 

If you want to and have the chance help your fellow man, lost animal, and etc. Checking on people is a kind and lifesaving thing to do, as well as securing people’s pets.

All of this from a person who lived in a tornado prone area growing up, to you.

im gonna be serious here for a moment and say that there is a real problem with the safety of mobile homes/trailer homes in severe weather and it needs to be talked about more i think

yes, they offer affordable housing for tons of people (i am one of them!) but they offer pretty much no protection in tornados above an EF0.

permanent homes are destroyed from the top down. mobile homes fail from the bottom, from their supports, causing them to be VERY EASILY swept away and mangled into twisted metal, piping and insulation.

despite only 6% of the US living in mobile homes, MORE THAN 50% OF DEATHS IN TORNADOS OCCUR THERE. (63.2% as of august 23rd, 2023)

in my situation, we have one storm shelter in our park. we have over 250 trailers and granted, not every single one is occupied, but there could be 2-4 people in one residence. you expect EVERY SINGLE ONE of them to go to ONE storm shelter? my mom and grandma depend on oxygen, and they've told me many times that if we have to go to the shelter they would rather me and my dad go than to haul their heavy oxygen tanks in the car and help them rush to it. they told me to leave them there. it is a death sentence. not to mention there are many people here who do not KNOW there's a tornado coming until the sirens go off. they could realize it too late, get caught in their car rushing to the shelter.

and yes. a violent tornado could hit literally any state in america. tornados can hit Canada, Germany, China.. a PRETTY good chunk of the earth can. i won't list every country but it's worth looking into.

anyways. yeah. idk why im suddenly so livid and passionate about this topic but i don't think my feelings are unjustified.

and while you do not HAVE to reblog this, it would be really cool if it reached a large audience. severe weather deaths are rare, injuries are uncommon, but they are not zero. and they are preventable.

Tornado Safety!

When tornado season starts up each year, I usually do a little PSA about how to prepare for bad storms. Since it seems like tornadoes are getting more and more likely outside of Tornado Alley (thank you climate change…), I thought I’d do a little more thorough and less Deep South centered write up to help people new to tornadoes prepare for bad weather.

Please note I’m not a severe weather specialist, nor am I any kind of emergency or crisis assistance professional. This is just wisdom gleaned from three decades living in a place where this stuff was just… normal. You learned about tornado safety in school, and you knew how severe weather worked by watching the news. It’s just part of the culture around here (Here being northern Alabama). But if you’re new to it, or it’s new to you, here’s my primer.

Tornado 101: Tornado season happens in the mid-to-southeastern USA (nicknamed Tornado Alley) twice each year. Broadly speaking, tornado season is from late February to August each year, with another blip in the autumn that’s less severe. (obviously tornadoes are becoming more common outside of this area and “season” is varying more and more. Again… Climate change.) Most tornadoes occur in the late afternoon/early evening, usually after the sun has warmed up the ground and caused the atmosphere to become unstable due to the rapidly changing air temperature. The reason spring is so volatile is because that is the widest temperature change on a day to day basis, plus it rains often which adds to humidity which adds to the instability. This is not to say tornadoes can’t happen any other time of year. It’s just less likely. If you’re interested in a deeper primer, check out the National Severe Storms Laboratory page on the subject HERE! Cool… so you live in Tornado Alley or another place that gets tornadoes (They’ve been seen as far north as Chicago and as far west as California)! What should you do so you don’t get blown away?

Well first of all, don’t freak out. Don’t ever freak out. It’s fine. There’s some prep you should do both in terms of equipment and knowledge, but there’s no need to go full Doomsday Prepper on this. There’s just some basic stuff you should have and know, just like someone in northern Wisconsin should know how to drive on snow and have an engine block heater. Annual Tornado Safety Checkup: Here’s a list of things you should do to prepare ahead of time for a possible tornado or bad storm (tornadoes are bad, but there’s things that cause just as much disruption or damage like straight line winds and hail). And once you get your gear together, you should check that stuff every year. I usually go through mine in March, and then again when the weather starts to turn cold in fall (there’s a lot of overlap of this stuff and winter storm gear in my area so I can double up). Know where your safe place is. This is where you will take cover during a tornado. If you live in a house, locate an interior room on the lowest floor of your home (including your basement). This should be the room with the most walls between you and the outside and no windows if possible. Usually this a bathroom or interior hallway. If you live in an apartment that’s not on the ground floor, or in a trailer or dormitory, find out where the nearest shelter is and make a plan of how to get there. For dorms or apartments sometimes they have an onsite shelter. At work, ask your manager/boss/coworker who’s been there awhile what happens during a tornado. If you work in a non-public facing place like an office, it might take some time to get an answer (and if there’s not an answer, that’s a red flag. You should push to figure that out.) but if you work in some place that the public goes regularly (school, mall, entertainment venue), it might be posted somewhere in the building like the bathroom or a main hallway. For public spaces, when in doubt, go to the bathroom or an interior stairwell/hallway on the first floor. Remember, you want as many walls between you and outside as possible and as few things between you and the ground as possible. Get a weather radio and get extra batteries. This will be a programmable radio that will alert you to severe weather in your area. Walmart and similar stores usually have them. Sometimes news stations will give them away for free, but they aren’t expensive. Seriously… go get one. They’re absolutely vital. And make sure to get one that can run on batteries if the power goes out. I have a pretty sweet one that also has a built in flashlight and functions as a regular radio. You’ll need to program that sucker so it knows what location to give alerts for, but there’s plenty of online tutorials for that or it will come with instructions. And you may be tempted to think that you don’t need one because of internet or cell service. Don’t. It’s a trap. A major rule of severe weather safety is don’t rely on only one piece of hardware/source for information. So don’t just rely on your phone. Don’t rely on the TV. Don’t rely on the internet. Those things can and will go out. But even if the power goes out, the radio stations will fire up the generators and keep broadcasting. During the terrible tornado outbreak here in April of 2011, the power was out for over a week and we -only- had radio. They kept broadcasting though!

Oh, and make sure you swap out the batteries and test that puppy every year. Familiarize yourself with a map of your area. Map reading skills and personal awareness of your location are basic tornado safety skills. Learn what county you’re in. Learn where you are in said county and what counties border you. Learn basic landmarks in your more immediate area, especially to the west as most storms move west to east. These landmarks should be things like major highways/roads, municipal buildings like schools, hospitals, and public buildings, and other major locations of note (parks, major shopping centers, and large well-known churches). And not only will you want to know this stuff visually, but you’ll need to be able to hear it via radio and know where you are and where the storm is. This takes practice, so start working on it now. Find a local weather person you like on a local news channel and start watching their broadcasts. Sometimes you can even find them on YouTube! For example, this is how a weatherperson will explain where a storm is over the radio and which direction it’s headed: This storm is currently outside Warksburg in Warking County and is headed west across Warkwark Road along Interstate 0. If you live near the Warkmart on Warkington St. or in the neighborhood around Our Lady of the Perpetual Warking Church, take shelter immediately. If you live in Warkford Plaza or in the area of the Warkball stadium on Warkford Street, take cover as well since this will be on you in about 10 minutes. I’m always surprised at how many people can’t find themselves on a basic county map. Growing up in Alabama in the 90s, they drilled this stuff into everyone both in the school system and as a public safety project… we even had stickers with county maps for the back of your remote so you could make notes about where you were for when you were watching the radar. Map skills are basic safety in tornado country. Especially if the TV is out and all you have is the radio to listen to for updates. You need to know that stuff when the weather-people are talking about trajectories of storms, so you can know if you need to go hide in your bathroom or if you can go stand on your porch. (kidding. Don’t do that except I’m totally one of those people…) Learn to sling the tornado lingo. Know what a hook echo is and how to spot one on a radar? How about a wall cloud? Know what a super cell is and why it’s dangerous? There’s a whole lexicon of terms about tornadoes and learning them will help you more effectively watch your local weather coverage during severe storms. You should also learn what the different alert levels are and what they mean… but the short version is that a Watch means conditions are favorable for tornadoes (this often gets announced at least a few hours before storms move into the area), and a Warning means that a tornado/funnel has been spotted or has appeared on radar (This will be announced as soon as the rotation is spotted on radar or there’s a physical report on the ground. Likely lasts less than half an hour). Watch means just hang tight, get eyes on your safety gear, and keep an eye on the weather. Warning means there is (or is very likely) a tornado on the ground so if you’re in the path, go hide. A great source for this and other vocabulary is here!

Get a first aid kit. This is basic life safety, really, but it’s also important for tornado safety. If you can, get one of those kits that has some of the outdoorsy survival stuff like rain ponchos, alcohol wipes, emergency shears, and splinter removal. You will also want sunscreen in there (in case the power goes out for a long time and you need to walk somewhere like the grocery store so you don’t waste gas). Check it every year to see what needs replacing. Also make sure it has some basic OTC meds like pain relievers. Buy good flashlights. And don’t forget the batteries. They also make super cool hand-crank flashlights, and my personal favorite are these flashlights that have a charging cradle. You plug them in and they double as a nightlight… and when the power goes out they turn on so you can see to find them. And before you ask, no your cellphone does not count as a flashlight, save to use it to get to your real flashlight. You’ll want to save the charge on your phone for later. Remember that the assumption here is that the power might be out for awhile… possibly more than a day. You will need a real flashlight. More than one preferably. I have one in my kitchen, garage, and my bedside table. Make sure when you get them that you take them out of the plastic prisons so you’re not fumbling with scissors in the dark. Also, it’s not the worst idea to get an electric lantern or two. They can live in your car until you really need them. Test your generators and service them if needed. This is pretty self explanatory. Stockpile prescription meds. If you’re on meds that will be a Bad Time ™ if you go off them, make sure you keep a bit of a stockpile. If you’re on a controlled substance or just generally have issues with this, contact your doctor or pharmacist for assistance/information. This is just good life safety again, but you do not want to get stuck behind washed out roads with no power AND no meds. *** Okay… so you have your stuff. You know your plan and you can find your house on a map. And you hear there’s severe weather coming in a few days. Now what? Well, there’s no reason to go crazy. Odds are good everything will be fine. So to keep myself from going overboard, all my prep goes through two gates: What will I kick myself for not doing if the worst happens? What will I kick myself for doing and not needing it? That tends to keep the desire to over-prepare at bay. Check your annual checks again. Ensure they’re all working and you have back up batteries for your radio, flashlight, etc. Also, make sure all these things are where you can find them in the dark. Bear in mind as you’re prepping that you might be without power and/or internet for awhile… as in days. Get the following items and make sure you can find them in the dark: -Pocket knife/multi-tool. -Rain jacket, -Sturdy, closed toe, shoes and good socks (water proof/resistent if you have them. You might need to pick your way out of your house through debris so pretend you’re going to a construction site). -A bike or construction helmet (put it in your safe place). -Sturdy clothes… like some good jeans, longsleeve shirt etc. Again, pretend you’re going to a construction site. -A good backpack/duffle/small suitcase (no need to pack a bag every time it thunders but just be able to lay a hand on what you’d need if you have to pack in the dark). -An umbrella. -A little cash. (No need to go crazy, but if power, cell service, and internet go down, we’re back to the stone ages… so get enough to grab some groceries and maybe a tank of gas). -Pet carriers if you have animals, and food for them. (In case you need to evacuate) -Candles and ignition sources. (don’t have this be your only light source, but they’re not a bad idea for prolonged outages)

Get gas. Gas up any cars you have the day before severe weather is due to hit. If you have a generator, get gas for it. No need to go hoarding, but you will want a full tank of gas just in case. Best case scenario, nothing happens and future you has one less thing to worry about in the morning on your way to work. Worst case scenario… Future you has one less thing to worry about in a crisis. (We learned this lesson in the 2011 outbreak in Alabama… The power was out for over a week and we had less than half a tank in both our cars and were not sure we could make it to a place with power that also had gas so we were stuck.)

Check your prescription medication stock. Make sure you’d be good for at least a week if the power goes out or you get stuck behind fallen trees or a washed out road. Do laundry. I’m serious. Make sure you have clean clothes and plenty of towels just in case the power goes out and you can’t do laundry for awhile. (also a lesson personally learned in 2011) Charge all your devices. Cellphones, tablets, laptops, power banks and external batteries for your cellphones, and such. Anything like that. Find all your cables and have them in easy reach. Again… future you will thank you for this regardless of if you get blown to Oz. Make sure you have weather apps and alert systems installed on your phone and check for updates. If it’s supposed to storm overnight, turn the ringer on your phone on. Don’t just trust the sirens to warn you. (we learned that lesson a couple of years ago… a software glitch lead to the sirens not going off). Make sure you can lay hands on things you don’t need power to do. If the power goes out for a really long time it can make you a little stir-crazy, so stash some playing cards, a crochet project, a book or anything like that with your emergency supplies. Your bored future self will thank you. I read a lot of books in the week we were without power in 2011 and I taught my husband to play Egyptian Rat Screw. 

If you have a propane grill, make sure you have a fresh/extra tank on hand. If you lose power for a long time, you might want to have a cookout to work through anything perishable in your freezer. Make sure you have food on hand that doesn’t require cooking. Granola/protein bars, canned goods, peanut butter, that sort of thing. Also, keep drinking water on hand, just in case. Just a case in the pantry will do. And don’t just feed yourself! Make sure you have food and supplies for any pets you might have. Again… don’t stockpile or go crazy. Just make sure if the power goes out for a couple of days, you’re covered on food… stuff you’d eat anyway. Make sure you can find weather info quickly and from multiple sources. Tune your radio, weather radio, and TV to your local weather station of choice. Bookmark a good local weather source in your web browser and on your phone. *** So you’re all prepped. But now your weather radio is going ballistic! THERE’S A TORNADO WATCH! WAT DO???

Stay calm. Seriously, it’s probably fine and you aren’t going to change the trajectory of the storm by stressing about it. If where you are is not safe (such as a mobile home or you’re out driving) go to the tornado shelter. Do this before the sirens go off or the take cover order is given. You don’t want to be caught driving. Take a change of clothes, your first aid kit, a flashlight, your phone charger, your phone, ID and money, and something to do that won’t drain your cellphone battery. Stay glued to your local weather news. Use everything that’s working… TV, website, and radio. Watch the trajectory and heed any advice from the local weather-people and the National Weather Service. You’re watching for things close to you now. Often the weather people tracking the storms will draw a cone out from areas of concern (not just tornadoes but things like hail as well) and those cones will mark neighborhoods, major landmarks etc. and give ETAs for all those places. This is where all your map reading skills will come in handy. They said to take cover! The sirens are going off! So that means you need to go to your safe spot we mentioned before. Stay calm and get moving. Turn up the TV/computer so you can hear the weather from your safe spot. Bring your pets and family. Bring your flashlight. Bring your first aid kit. Bring your phone and charger. Bring your weather radio. Grab all your pillows or a fluffy duvet to hide under. Put on your helmet if you have one. (This is to help prevent injury from falling debris or broken glass.) And bring something to do. You might be here for a hot minute. Stay in your safe spot until the all clear is given. Be patient. These storms move fast usually, but tornadoes can spin up on the front and backside of a line of storms. Sit tight and wait for the all clear. WHAT IF I’M DRIVING!? If you’re driving and a tornado warning is given for the area, or God forbid you SEE a funnel cloud, stay calm. If there’s a house or building nearby, go bang on the door and beg them to let you inside. I’m serious. If there’s no buildings, go lay flat in a ditch. I’m still serious. Get as low to the ground as you can and cover your head and face with your jacket. You absolutely do not want to be in a car when there’s tornadoes about. They will toss you around like a tin can. Edited to add: Do NOT get under an overpass. This was common wisdom (even I was told this and originally had it in the post) but according to the National Weather Service and FEMA this is not the case. It seems like a good idea because it's a sturdy shelter, but it acts like a wind tunnel. Thank you to @medic-kix for the catch.

*** Aaaannnd that’s that! I’m sure I missed something so feel free to tack on if you’ve got any further advice. Everyone be safe and stay weather aware!

Tornado Quest Top Science Links For April 13 - 20, 2024 #science #weather #climate #climatechange #severeweather #tornado #drought

Greetings everyone. Thanks so much for stopping by. Severe weather, including tornadoes, has taken place, but it’s been relatively quiet this spring. Having said that, there are changes on the horizon in terms of severe weather potential. It’s that time of year to buckle down on how to prepare for all severe weather hazards. Our overview of severe weather preparedness will stay with a review of…

View On WordPress

Message from the Clergy:

Tornado Safety DOs and Don’ts

DO - Seek Shelter.

DON’T - Stand outside holding a set of nunchucks yelling “Bring it on, asshole!”

DO - Stay away from windows if possible.

DON’T - Set up a series of electric fans in an attempt to steer the tornado toward your ex’s house.

DO - Bring any pets indoors.

DON’T - Try to stab the tornado with a wooden stake. That’s vampires; you’re thinking of vampires.

DO - Listen for weather updates.

DON’T - Get attached. The tornado will eventually leave you just like everything else in your miserable life.

Thank you,

-The Clergy

hello, all! sorry about this, but I’m gonna vaguepost a bit here about tornado misinformation…

if there is a tornado ripping through your town, and it looks as though it’s suddenly weakening and the funnel cloud is no longer visible, that does not mean the tornado has abruptly ended. if you can see debris being kicked up on the ground below the tornado, and see debris flying around in the air, the tornado is still present and can still be dangerous.

tornadoes are known to change strength, speed, direction, shape, and color at any time, and I don’t want anybody to make any potentially deadly mistakes for themselves!

also, the U.S. government is not artificially creating tornadoes or otherwise modifying weather to create tornadoes. I see people coming up with conspiracy theories about perfectly normal tornado behavior and I don’t want anyone caught up in worrying about that sort of thing.

Severe Weather Go Bag Packing List

Hi friends!! I wanted to make this post to hopefully help others prepare for severe weather events.

If you live in the United States you may know that Tornado Season is coming up soon (it technically begins in April) but as seen in recent weeks, severe storms and tornadoes can happen outside of Tornado Season. This post is going to be about packing a go bag for severe weather.

A go bag is a bag (usually a backpack) that you pack BEFORE (read that again) a storm is predicted to hit your area. It has a few necessities you made need in the event that you are displaced for a couple of days. If your shelter is in side of your home you can go ahead and put it in your shelter once it’s packed so you don’t have to worry about grabbing it. If your shelter is outside of your home (like an underground storm cellar or you have to drive to your local storm shelter) you can either put the bag out in your shelter, by your front/back door or in the car to make it easier. I will also make a separate post about what to wear during a severe weather event and will like it HERE.

So first what bag should you get?

I personally just have a waterproof backpack I got from Amazon for like $15. I do not recommend using your school bag, but if that is the only option then as soon as you can empty it to prepare for the Storm. As I said you want this to be packed before the storm hits.

What to pack:

Small flashlight (if power goes out you’ll need light, or if power lines are down and it’s night time this will help as well, you don’t want to be waiting phone battery) Walmart has a good one that’s less than $2 near the camping equipment

Any important physical documents you have that are NOT saved digitally. You don’t want a ton of paper in your go bag but if you have certain documents that you NEED and do not have saved, try having a folder for them and put that in the bag. (I personally have a small one for my dog’s papers work as he is in the process of becoming an ESA and I can’t lose these papers)

Battery pack and wall charger. Chances are power will go out but if it doesn’t and you need to charge you phone it’s nice to have the option to plug into the wall. So try to have a battery back, cord and block for charging your phone. CHARGE THE BANK BEFORE THE STORM ARRIVES!!!

I personally drop my laptop into my bag as well just so I don’t loose it. It has all my info on it so I’d like to keep it safe.

A change of clothes. You may be displaced so having a change of clothes is always nice to have, at the very least drop a pair or two of underwear in your bag so you can at least change those if you are unable to get home. And when it comes to the type of clothes you bring, BRING PANTS!! It may be middle of summer but if you’re having to walk/dig through debris you do NOT want to be in shorts.

Water bottle. Either a plastic or refillable one. Make sure it has water in it before the storm.

Food, I personally just drop a few snacks that are filling (like granola bars) in my bag.

Comfort item. I personally have Storm anxiety. It’s normal. Hell I’m going into Meteorology and have storm anxiety. It’s okay to put a comfort item in your go bag. I have my teddy bear from when I was little in mine.

A beach towel. Don’t grab the thickest one you have. Just a thin one that doesn’t take up too much room will do just fine. In the event that you have to run out in the rain to get to your shelter, it’s nice to have one to dry you (or your dog off)

Medications. Any medication that you need (or anyone in your care) may need. You don’t want to be without it if something happens to your home.

I may add to this as I will be packing my bag tomorrow for some up coming storms. I hope this helps anyone who may see it 🖤

tornado safety

since there's going to be another tornado outbreak tuesday, here's a reminder of tornado safety:

warnings:

1. In the US, a tornado watch is issued when conditions are prime for tornado formation. It means a tornado is likely, but not yet confirmed. it also means you have more time to prepare (15 minutes to a few hours). if one is issued, you should turn on the weather news and have everything ready to go to safety. you might still have time to drive to a safer area.

2. a tornado warning means that a tornado has either been witnessed in person or on radar. it means get to safety immediately, there is no time to waste. a particularly dangerous situation, or PDS warning, means that the tornado is suspected to be large and destructive. It is not to be messed with.

3. a tornado emergency is not issued for every tornado, only for confirmed dangerous tornadoes heading straight for populated, generally urban areas. by the time a tornado emergency happens, you should definitely already be in your safe spot. You can survive it if you're in the right place, but you might want to throw in a few prayers for good measure.

safety:

1. the place to be in a tornado is the lowest, most interior room you can find. basements are ideal, otherwise put as many walls between you and the tornado as possible. reinforced concrete is the ideal kind of wall to have (and is usually what tornado shelters and panic rooms are made out of)

2. If you're outside, and have no other choice, lie in a ditch with your hands on your head. inside a car is not a safe space. tornadoes can and do throw cars around.

3. Putting on a helmet or pulling a mattress over your head is also a good way to save your life in a pinch. it'll protect you from getting your skull shattered by flying debris, which is the greatest danger in a tornado.

4. put on closed shoes before shit hits the fan. when you do need to get out of your shelter, you might need to walk on broken glass and debris, nails, whatever. you don't want to be stuck barefooted.

and yeah. that's about it. stay safe.

What To Do In Tornados

I’ve lived in tornado country pretty much my whole life and to be honest they still freak me out. I also remember how anxiety inducing it was when I first moved out and had to deal with them on my own. So like a message in a bottle to my former self, I wanted to compile what I’ve learned over the years in a skimmable format in case there’s anyone else out there today who could use it. 

Difference between a watch and a warning?

Tornado watch means you have time; think of a wrist watch. Tornado warning means one is incoming, no more time. This is the one I use to remember it.

Or if you prefer the Weather Channels very memeable explanation - tornado watch means you have taco (tornado) ingredients - picture a taco bar. Tornado warning means you have a fully assembled taco (tornado). This is what my partner uses. 

So there are possible tornados in the forecast: 

Make a plan about where you’ll go if you get a warning. It should be the most interior room in your house, well away from any windows. Here we have a walkout basement and I go to the most interior part of it. When I was in an apartment, the most interior room happened to be my bathroom and hallway. If you live in a dorm or other communal setting, they should have a plan in place so make sure to find out what it is.

Take pictures of your rooms and car in the event you need to file an insurance claim. Having pictures of what you own, it’s condition is helpful for filing insurance claims if you need to. Especially if you’re a renter. This is easiest to do when there’s no storms in your area so you aren’t nervous or pressed for time.

Make a power outage plan. A lot of the threat that comes with tornados is not from the tornados themselves but the damaging straight line winds around the tornado. Whenever there’s high winds, there’s a chance to lose power. Consider how you’d eat, drink, go to the bathroom, and stay warm in the event of a power outage. Less necessary but still helpful - consider how you’ll entertain yourself, especially if cell towers go down or you need to conserve your phone battery. Consider what chores - like laundry or dishes - would be good to have out of the way before hand. 

Grab snacks and food that doesn’t need refrigeration. If you’re able to make a grocery store run, grab some food you can eat that is shelf stable and doesn’t require cooking. A good rule of thumb in my experience is three days worth. Most power outages I’ve been through have been fixed in that time and you can more safely evacuate then if you need to go somewhere with power. If you’re like me and have a lot of food allergies (gluten, dairy, soy) - consider baking items ahead of time that can keep well at room temperature like cookies, scones, and breads. 

So you’ve been issued a Tornado Watch:

Check the forecast; you might have lots of time before the storms will be in your area or you might have very little.

Make a plan if you haven’t already. Or check your building’s plan if you live in a dorm or communal setting. 

Make sure everyone involved knows the plan. Don’t assume people you’re with know. I have made that mistake before. 

Charge your phone and electronics. If you don’t currently have a thunderstorm in your area, go ahead and charge your phone, power bank, flashlights, and anything else you’ll want to take with you your safe spot.

Gather supplies to take with you to your safe spot

Minimum: 

Shoes

Phone

Form of ID*

Leash/Harness/Cage for pets 

Explanation of minimum: 

Shoes are important because if you need to evacuate, there’s likely broken glass and other things on the floor that can injure you. If you can’t safely move through it, then people will have to come escort you out which means waiting longer + more risk. 

Phone is important for calling for help and receiving alerts. Also many can double as a flashlight in a pinch.

*ID is helpful accessing emergency housing and medical services if you have to leave your home. If your ID doesn’t list your residence or you don’t have/want to have ID documents on you for safety reasons, consider grabbing a copy of your lease or some mail addressed to you there. You can still access services without this, it just helps speed stuff up. 

Keeping pets on a leash or cage helps keep them safe in the event you need to evacuate with them. 

If you can:

Tote bag

Helmet

Flashlight

Power bank + cord

Weather radio

Water bottles

Some pet food + bowl

Snacks

I put all my supplies in a little tote bag. It’s my storm tote (conference bag I’m never gonna use for anything else).

Helmet is pretty self explanatory. One more way to keep your head safe in case anything falls on you. 

Flashlights help you move around your house if it’s safe to stay in if the power goes out. In the event your house is unsafe, it helps you safely evacuate. If you’re trapped, it helps you signal for help. 

Power bank + cord helps you recharge your phone if the power goes out. When you’re checking alerts and watching streams, the battery can deplete quickly. 

Weather radios of any kind is helpful. Cell service often goes out so the way you’ll get your information then will be primarily through radio. If you’re reading this not in a watch and want to get one, look for ones that will wake you up if there’s a warning in your area. Midland has several. I have a small Sony radio I take with me to my safe spot. 

Water bottles are helpful because they’re highly portable and in the unlikely event you get trapped in your house, you’ll have water to keep you hydrated while help gets to you. 

Pet food is so you can feed your animal without leaving your safe spot since warnings can last a long time. I’ve seen some areas be warned for 1-2 hours before if a storm is slow moving enough. But it’s also so you’ll have some food for them in the event you need to evacuate. 

Snacks are similar to pet food. It’s you food. Just helps you shelter in place. 

So you’ve been issued a Tornado Warning:

Put on your shoes

Put pets on harnesses and a leash or in a cage 

Go to your safe spot and don’t come out until the warning has expired

Especially if the warning is PDS or has some other enhanced tag, try to bring something to cover your head and body with - like a mattress. A thick blanket is better than nothing in a pinch.  

hi this is a PSA from your local weather safety dog:

if i see another person seeking shelter under an overpass im going to lose my MIND!!!

and everyone in the US should know this information, no matter what state you live in. yes, they all get tornados and im sick of people (IN THE US) telling me they "dont get any where they live" or "they live in a big city so they won't get hit".

idk those seem like PRETTY big cities to me. (btw an EF1 tornado is enough to flip A MOBILE HOME, WHICH YOU SHOULD NOT BE IN DURING A TORNADO)

so um yeah! its never a bad time to read up on this stuff. and i know people have such a fear of storms and i absolutely understand (i got physically sick every time i saw a tornado picture up until age 22) but im not asking you to become obsessed with them like i am. im asking you to take some time every once in a while and think: "if a tornado hit RIGHT NOW, where do i go/where do i take my loved ones?"

sources for the first image, the second, and the third.

Is Severe Weather In Your Forecast? #severeweather #tornado #flooding

For those folks in the southern and central plains and adjacent areas, it’s no secret that we’re heading into several days of severe weather with all hazards, including tornadoes, expected. Here’s some very important and helpful severe weather, tornado, lightning, and flood safety information from the National Weather Service. Also, remember to plan well ahead if you’re traveling, working, etc.…

View On WordPress

Watch "The Roads to Disaster Preparedness" on YouTube

Hm. Good advice.

just got absolutely walloped by 2 or 3 (the delineation of separate storms is hard) massive, SEVERE storms

I think I counted a total of like, 7 tornado warnings in my general area? with one very small one (not small as in “not intense”, small as in “there is a very clear path of danger”) directly on my immediate surroundings and ofc that includes where I Currently Am. there were two more ~10 miles away, one ~30 miles away, and the rest were within 55 miles

there’s a fourth wave of storm on the way but it’s currently unclear whether it’ll come north enough to hit me specifically, but it is very likely to cause further damage (especially through flooding) in other nearby areas at least.

obligatory clarification that tornado warnings mean there is technically a tornado even if it doesn’t touch ground.

over 15k people had their power knocked out about 50 miles from me, which was over 20% of that power company’s coverage, they’re expecting it to take at least a matter of hours to fix, and it’s already been at least 3-4 hours since the first ones lost power

there is major flooding in several areas, including major highways, within 75 miles of me and countless trees down, including some that have fallen on houses, and many many on roads, several of which are preventing the restoration of power in some areas because whole parts of towns and apartment complexes etc are entirely inaccessible

tonight is a living hell, and I’m in one of the areas that’s been least affected (out of the areas affected, obv unrelated areas are fine)

local rumor spreading right now is that there have been fluctuations in the jet stream due to climate change that set us up for this, im too distressed to do any fact checking on that right now

if any crowdfunding initiatives come out of this I’ll make sure to share them

earthquakes suck fucking ass how do some of you Live Like That the earth isn't supposed to Move Like That what the fuck (< it has been a week and I still think about it.)