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Tornado Safety
Tornado Safety Rules
- In a home or building, move to a pre-designed shelter, such as a basement.
- If an underground shelter is not available, move to a small interior room or hallway on the lowest floor and get under a sturdy piece of furniture. Put as many walls as possible between you and the outside.
- Stay away from windows.
- Get out of automobiles.
- Do not try to outrun a tornado in your car: instead, leave it immediately for a safe shelter.
- If caught outside or in a vehicle, lie flat in a nearby ditch or depression and cover your head with your hands.
- Be aware of flying debris. Flying debris from tornadoes causes most fatalities and injuries.
- Mobile homes, even if tied down, offer little protection from tornadoes. You should leave a mobile home and go to the lowest floor of a sturdy nearby building or a storm shelter.
Occasionally, tornadoes develop so rapidly that advance warning is not possible. Remain alert for signs of an approaching tornado. Flying dbris from tornadoes causes most deaths and injuries.
Why should I? The Reasons Behind Safety Tips
Go To The Lowest Floor/Interior Room
Storm surveys have indicated that when damage has occurred due to a tornado, the roof is usually affected first. Weaker tornadoes will often remove roof shingles, with stronger tornadoes taking off pieces of the roof or the whole roof. The bottom line is that you don’t want to be near the roof when a tornado is near. So if you are in a dwelling with multiple floors, go to the lowest floor if possible.
After the roof, the outer walls of a structure will usually go next. To avoid outer walls, go to an interior room. A good rule of thumb is to put as many walls between yourself and the outdoors as you can.
Going to an interior room will also keep you away from windows. So in the event a tornado breaks a window, you will not be exposed to broken glass.
Do Not Waste Time Opening Windows!
In the past, people were advised to open their windows when a tornado approached. It was thought that the rapidly lowering pressure surrounding a tornado would cause the outer walls of a building to expand and explode with the windows closed. Opening the windows would help equalize the pressure and lessen the chances of damage.
Recent studies have concluded that most tornado damage is caused by winds and not lowering pressure. In effect, opening the windows would do little to minimize damage. In fact, by opening the windows, you might create a wind tunnel within the structure...with objects blowing around and possibly causing injuries. So, the advice now is to keep the windows closed and to concentrate on finding a suitable place of safety.
Abandon Mobile Homes/Lie In A Ditch
Mobile homes are not safe during tornadoes.
The deaths mostly occurred when mobile homes were removed from their foundations and rolled along the ground. The mobile homes were often found in pieces, with personal items scattered about. Given the evidence, it is advised that people abandon mobile homes when tornadoes are closing in.
So if you have left your mobile home, and there are no underground shelters nearby, where do you go? It is suggested that you hide in a ditch or culvert.
Being below ground level will help you avoid flying debris and personal injury. Keep an eye on the level of the water in the ditch, however. You do not want to be in a ditch that fills up with rainwater (i.e. increases the chances of drowning or being swept downstream)!
For more information on Weather Hazards Awareness Week in New York contact:
David Nicosia
Warning Coordination Meteorologist
NWS Binghamton:
phone: (607) 770-9531 ext 223
e-mail: david.nicosia@noaa.gov
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