Tornado Safety Tips

Tornadoes can form at any hour of the day or night, but a tornado is most likely to hit between 3pm and 9pm.

DO NOT waste time opening windows! Instead get away from them!

The best place to be is down in your basement. Get there as fast as you can and cover your head, maybe with a strong table or a mattress. BUT DO NOT WASTE TIME TRYING TO YANK THE MATTRESS OFF YOUR BED! If you're in the basement and there's no mattress available, (I know I keep MY bed down there 0.0), do NOT go back upstairs to get one! Find a table and cower!

But what if you don't have a basement? Get away from doors and outside walls. A closet offers good protection, and many have survived a tornado by being in the bathtub because the plumbing in the walls can make them more resistant to breaking apart. Again, if you happen to have a handy mattress floating around, grab it and hide under it in the bath tub, but if it's going to be a hassle to grab the mattress off your bed and steer it through the house, don't worry about it! Just grab towels or blankets and cower! Also, should your bathroom have windows, it's safer to get into a closet near the center of the house where there are no windows.

A large number of you live in high-rises. If you do live in a high-rise and you think there might be a tornado coming, get out of your room and into the hallway, if possible on the lowest level of the buildings. DO NOT use the elevator.

NEVER STAY IN A MOBILE HOME! YOU ARE NOT SAFE, NO MATTER WHAT YOU MIGHT BELIEVE! If you live in a mobile home park, find out if the park has a community storm shelter. If not, consider getting one or be sure you know the location of the nearest substantial shelter. If you do not live in a park, please consider getting a storm shelter of your own. The cost of the shelter is nothing compared to the cost of lives.

If no substantial shelter is nearby get into a ditch or a low area and lie flat on the ground.

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