TORNADO SAFETY TIPS
Thunderstorms with their deadly lightning, heavy rain, destructive winds, and hail are the ? advanced men for the most violent storm on earth
TORNADO WATCH: This alert condition means that that weather conditions in your area are favorable to produce tornadoes. Stay alert and informed by monitoring the weather in your area and keeping your radio or television on.
TORNADO WARNING: This alert condition means that a tornado has been reported or detected on radar and that you should seek a safe shelter immediately.
IN YOUR HOME: A basement offers the best shelter. Seek shelter under the stairway or sturdy furniture. In homes without basements, seek shelter in the center of the home, on the lowest floor, in a small room or closet, bathroom or interior hallway.
IN A MOBILE HOME: There is no safe shelter in a mobile home. Go to a prearranged safe shelter. If there is no time, vacate the mobile home and take shelter in a ditch or depression, upwind from the mobile home.
IN A VEHICLE: If there is time, travel at right angles to the tornado?s path. If there is no time to drive away, get out of the vehicle and into a safe shelter or a ditch or depression, upwind from the vehicle.
AT WORK OR SCHOOL: Follow advance shelter plans to move into interior hallways or small rooms with out windows on the lowest level of the building. AVOID AREAS WITH LARGE SPAN ROOFS.
IN OPEN COUNTRY: Take shelter in a sturdy building if possible or lie flat in a ditch or depression and hold on to something anchored in the ground. . MAKE SURE YOU ARE UPWIND FROM ANY VEHICLE OR LOOSE DEBRIS.
SIREN WARNING: Three to five minute steady siren tone means TORNADO WARNING during the tornado season, which is usually from March until September. During the rest of the year, it means ?alert?, tune to your local radio or television station for further information.
SIREN TESTS: In most localities, the siren tests are conducted on the first Saturday of the month at 1 PM. The tests usually consist of one minute of steady tone, followed by three minutes of silence, followed by one minute of ?up and down? tones. The test is then completed.
INFORMATION: Please do not call your local dispatch center or Police or Fire Department, for storm information during a Tornado Watch or a Tornado Warning. You will just tie up phone lines that are needed for emergency communications. Contact your local Emergency Program Manager during normal business hours for shelter or procedural questions.
Tornado Safety 2004