Severe Weather Safety Tips
The 49 Storm Team explains what you can do to keep you and your family safe during severe weather. Stay informed ahead of the storm with these safety tips.
Tornadoes | Lightning | Flash Floods | View printable version
Click the photo to view a public service message about severe weather. We have also set up a gallery of photos from the '66 tornado. Check it out.
To make you more secure when playing outdoors, sign up for 49 News severe weather cell phone alerts, so you and your friends and family can know the minute a severe weather warning is issued and take the appropriate action.
Tornadoes
Tornadoes can occur at any time of year. In the Midwest, peak tornado season is during the summer. The average tornado moves from southwest to northeast, but tornadoes have been known to move in any direction. The average forward speed is 30 mph, but may vary from nearly stationary to 70 mph. Look to the sky for clues of tornadoes, including:
- Dark, often greenish sky
- Wall cloud
- Large hail
- Loud roar; similar to a freight train
Before the storm:
- Develop a plan for you and your family for home, work, school and when outdoors
- Conduct frequent drills
- Know the county in which you live and keep a highway map nearby to follow storm movement
- Have a weather radio with a warning alarm and back-up batteries
- Listen to radio and television reports for information
- If planning an outdoor trip, listen to the latest forecasts and take necessary action if threatening weather is possible.
If a warning is issued:
- If in a home or building, move to a pre-designated shelter, such as a basement
- If underground shelter is unavailable, move to an interior room or hallway on the lowest floor and get under a sturdy piece of furniture
- Stay away from windows
- Get out of automobiles
- Do not try to outrun a tornado in your car; instead, leave it immediately
- Mobile homes, even if tied down, offer little protection from tornadoes and should be abandoned
- Occasionally, tornadoes develop so rapidly that advance warning is not possible. Remain alert for signs of an approaching tornado.
Quick Fact: Flying debris from tornadoes causes most deaths and injuries.
Click the 49 weather graphic to view information about the 49 Storm Team and the technology that keeps you and your family safe from the storm.
Lightning
Lightning can be fascinating to watch, but it is also extremely dangerous. Lightning injures about 300 people per year in the U.S. and claims one to two victims annually. While some victims are stuck directly by lightning, many victims are struck as they current moves in and along the ground. Lightning can strike as far as 10 miles away from the rain area in a thunderstorm. Thunderstorms are most common on warm summer days.
How to protect yourself from lightning:
- If you can hear thunder, you are within striking distance. Get inside a safe structure immediately.
- Use the 30-30 rule: When you see lightning, count the time until you hear thunder. If that time is 30 seconds or less, the thunderstorm is within 6 miles and poses a risk of lightning danger.
- Wait at least 30 minutes before hearing the last clap of thunder.
- Inside the home, avoid windows and doors and contact with anything that conducts electricity
- During outdoor activities, keep an eye to the sky and develop a plan to keep participants and spectators safe from lightning
Quick Fact: In the U.S., there are an estimated 25 million cloud-to-ground lightning flashes each year.
Floods
Flash floods are short-term events, occurring within two to six hours of a heavy rain or snowmelt. Flash floods can be produced when slow moving or multiple thunderstorms occur over the same area. When storms move faster, flash flooding is less likely because the rain is distributed over a broader area. Flash flood damage and most fatalities tend to occur in areas immediately adjacent to a stream or river. Nearly half of all flood fatalities are vehicle related. Two feet of water can float most vehicles.
To prepare for flooding:
Learn more about flooding in Floods: The Awesome Power, a printable PDF document.
- Develop an evacuation plan. Everyone in your family should know where to go if they have to leave.
- Discuss floods with your family. Everyone should know what to do in case family members are not together.
- Determine if the roads you normally travel will be flooded during a storm. If so, look for alternative routes.
- Keep a Weather Radio, extra batteries, emergency cooking equipment and flashlights.
- Have a professional install check-values in plumbing to prevent flood waters from backing up into drains of your home.
- Store drinking water.
- Keep a stock of food requiring little cooking and no refrigeration.
- Keep first-aid supplies and prescription medicines on hand.
Quick Fact: Nearly half of all flood fatalities are vehicle-related. Larger vehicles have bigger tires, which hyold more air making them float easier. This puts owners of SUVs at a greater risk.
Source: National Weather Service
Weather in the Classroom: 49abcnews.com brings Weather in the Classroom to your desktop. Watch this 9-minute video for important severe weather information. The 49 Storm Team uses this video during their classroom visits. Play this educational video for your students to help them learn about the dangers of severe weather. If you would like to schedule a visit to your school, call Chief Meteorologist Matt Miller at (785) 215-8508.
