Tornado: Why Talk About Tornadoes?
Tornado: Why Talk About Tornadoes?
Tornado: Why Talk About Tornadoes?
Tornado
Produced by the
National Disaster
Education Coalition:
American Red Cross,
FEMA, IAEM, IBHS,
NFPA, NWS, USDA/
CSREES, and USGS
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Awareness Information
A National Weather Service WATCH is a message indicating that conditions favor the occurrence of a certain type of hazardous weather. For
example, a severe thunderstorm watch means that a severe thunderstorm is expected in the next six hours or so within an area approximately 120 to 150 miles wide and 300 to 400 miles long (36,000 to
60,000 square miles). The NWS Storm Prediction Center issues such
watches. Local NWS forecast offices issue other watches (flash flood,
winter weather, etc.) 12 to 36 hours in advance of a possible hazardousweather or flooding event. Each local forecast office usually covers a
state or a portion of a state.
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not fall in or next to a tornado. Very large hail, however, does fall in the
immediate area of the tornado. In humid environments, rain often tends to
wrap around the tornado, being pulled from the main precipitation area
around the outside of the rotating updraft. The rain could make it difficult
to see the tornado.
Waterspouts are weak tornadoes that form over warm water
and are most common along the Gulf Coast and southeastern
states. In the western United States, waterspouts occur with cold late fall
or late winter storms, during a time when you least expect tornado development. Waterspouts, which are tornadoes over a body of water, occasionally move inland becoming tornadoes and causing damage and injuries.
Damage happens when wind gets inside a home through a broken window, door, or damaged roof. Keep windows closed. Houses do
not explode due to air pressure differences. Stay away from windows during severe storms. Flying debris could shatter the glass and cause injury.
It used to be advised to go to the southwest corner for safety;
however, the southwest corner of a house is no safer than any
other corner. Historical information has shown that any corner on the
lowest level away from windows is as safe as any other corner. If tornado
winds enter the room, debris has a tendency to collect in corners. When
selecting a tornado safe place, look for a place on the lowest level and
away from windows, preferably in a small room (closet or bathroom) in the
center of the house. Closer walls will help provide more support to the roof,
and each wall between you and the outside will provide further protection.
Folklore passed down through the generations used to advise
opening windows in case of a tornado because air pressure differences would cause a house to explode. This information is not
true. Air pressure differences in a tornado are not strong enough to cause
a house to explode; houses are damaged by the violent winds associated
with a tornado and from the debris blown at high velocities by tornado
winds.
Folklore also used to advise that if you are driving and a tornado is suspected or sighted, you should turn and drive at right
angles to the storm. This advice is not recommended because tornadoes do not necessarily travel in straight lines; you cannot always tell the
direction the storm is coming from; the road you turn onto may curve and
head into the storm, rather than away from it; and there may be more than
one tornado associated with a strong storm system, but you may not see it
because visibility is diminished by heavy rain and wind-blown debris. The
safest thing to do is go to a nearby sturdy building and go inside to an area
on the lowest level, without windows. If a sturdy building is not available,
then get out of the vehicle and lay down in a low spot on the ground not
subject to flooding, protecting the head and neck.
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Learn about your tornado risk. While severe tornadoes are more frequent in the Plains States, tornadoes have happened in every state.
Contact your local emergency management office, local National
Weather Service office, or American Red Cross chapter for more information on tornadoes.
Check with your work and your childrens schools and day care
centers to learn tornado emergency plans. Every building has different safe places. It is important to know where they are and how to
get there in an emergency.
Find safe places in your home and classroom. Make sure these
places are away from windows and tall furniture that could tip over. In
your safe place, get under something sturdy, or use a large, hard-cover
book to help protect your head and neck from flying or falling objects.
Locate safe places outside in case you are not able to go inside.
Frequently, children in schools are told to move to the inner hallways
away from windows. Children need to know that a tornado safe place is
not the same as a fire meeting place.
If youre in a house or apartment building and a tornado threatens, go to the lowest level a basement or storm cellar if possible. Once on the lowest level, go to the middle of the building
away from windows, into a bathroom or closet if possible. The
safest place to be is under the ground, or as low to the ground as possible, and away from all windows. If you have a basement, make it your
safe place. If you do not have a basement, consider an interior hallway
or room on the lowest floor. Putting as many walls as you can between
you and the outside will provide additional protection. Make sure there
are no windows or glass doors in your safe place and keep this place
uncluttered.
Talking About Disaster: Guide for Standard Messages
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Use your other arm and hand to protect your head and neck
from falling or flying objects. Your head and neck are more easily
injured than other parts of your body. Protect them as much as you can.
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Keep trees and shrubbery trimmed. Make trees more wind resistant
by removing diseased or damaged limbs, then strategically remove
branches so that wind can blow through. Strong winds frequently break
weak limbs and hurl them at great speed, causing damage or injury
when they hit. Debris collection services may not be operating just
before a storm, so it is best to do this well in advance of approaching
storms.
Remove any debris or loose items in your yard. Branches and firewood may become missiles in strong winds.
Assemble a Disaster
Supplies Kit
Please see the Disaster Supplies Kit
section for general supplies kit information.
Tornado-specific supplies should include
the following:
A highway map to follow storm movement from weather bulletins.
Interview local officials about what people living in mobile home parks
should do if a tornado warning is issued.
Dark, often greenish sky. Sometimes one or more of the clouds turns
greenish (a phenomenon caused by hail) indicating a tornado may
develop.
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Roaring noise. The high winds of a tornado can cause a roar that is
often compared with the sound of a freight train.
Listen to a NOAA Weather Radio or local radio or television stations for updated information. Tornadoes can change direction,
intensity, and speed very quickly.
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Use your other arm and hand to protect your head and neck
from falling or flying objects. Your head and neck are more easily
injured than other parts of your body. Protect them as much as you can.
Avoid places with wide-span roofs, such as auditoriums, cafeterias, large hallways, or shopping malls. Wide-span roofs are frequently damaged or destroyed in tornado winds, providing less protection and more risk of injury, than roofs over smaller rooms.
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Watch out for fallen power lines or broken gas lines and report
them to the utility company immediately. Reporting potential
hazards will get the utilities turned off as quickly as possible, preventing
further hazard and injury.
Avoid disaster areas. Your presence might hamper rescue and other
emergency operations, and put you at further risk from the residual
effects of tornadoes.
Look for fire hazards. There may be broken or leaking gas lines,
or damage to electrical systems. Clean up spilled medicines, bleaches, gasoline, or other flammable liquids immediately. Fire is the most
frequent hazard following other disasters.
Check for gas leaks. If you smell gas or hear a blowing or hissing
noise, open a window and quickly leave the building. Turn off the
gas using the outside main valve if you can, and call the gas company from a neighbors home. If you turn off the gas for any reason, it
must be turned back on by a professional.
Watch for loose plaster, drywall, and ceilings that could fall.
Use the telephone only for emergency calls. Telephone lines are
frequently overwhelmed in disaster situations. They need to be clear for
emergency calls to get through.
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