Be Prepared This Tornado Season!

Be armed with these important safety tips so you'll know what to do before, during, and after a twister strikes!

by Farmers' Almanac Staff Updated: January 17, 2024

While springtime is the height of tornado season, tornadoes can happen at any time.

On average, tornadoes kill about 70 Americans each year and injure another 1,500. According to NOAA statistics, the 2018 season has seen 771 preliminary tornadoes so far, with 3 confirmed tornado deaths. Many of these tornadoes occurred in May and June so the season got off to an early and active start.

While tornadoes can occur at any time of the year, the traditional period of peak activity is from March through early July. And while tornadoes can touch down just about anywhere in North America, they are most likely to occur in the area known as “Tornado Alley,” which runs roughly through the Central Plains from Texas to Nebraska. Within that area, Texas has the highest number of tornadoes, with an average of 124 each year.

Tornado outbreak sequence of March 1913 - 1975 Omaha tornado outbreak

Like weather history? Read about the Easter Tornado Tragedy of 1913

Be Prepared

The Red Cross offers these important tornado preparedness tips:

During any storm, listen to local news or a weather radio to stay informed about tornado watches and warnings. Most cell phones now have severe weather alerts.
Know your community’s warning system. Communities have different ways of warning residents about tornadoes, with many having sirens intended for outdoor warning purposes.
Pick a safe room in your home where household members and pets may gather during a tornado. This should be a basement, storm cellar or an interior room on the lowest floor with no windows.
Practice periodic tornado drills so that everyone knows what to do if a tornado is approaching.
Consider having your safe room reinforced. Plans for reinforcing an interior room to provide better protection can be found on the FEMA website.
Prepare for high winds by removing diseased and damaged limbs from trees.
Move or secure lawn furniture, trash cans, hanging plants or anything else that can be picked up by the wind and become a projectile.

Watch For These Signs

Green tinged sky before a tornado — A green-tinted sky can spell trouble. Seek shelter immediately!

Dark, often greenish clouds – a phenomenon caused by hail
Wall cloud – an isolated lowering of the base of a thunderstorm
Cloud of debris
Large hail
Funnel cloud – a visible rotating extension of the cloud base
Roaring noise

Additional Tornado Safety Tips

The safest place to be is an underground shelter, basement, or safe room.
If no underground shelter or safe room is available, a small, windowless interior room or hallway on the lowest level of a sturdy building is the safest alternative.
Mobile homes are not safe during tornadoes or other severe winds.
Do not seek shelter in a hallway or bathroom of a mobile home.
If you have access to a sturdy shelter or a vehicle, abandon your mobile home immediately.
Go to the nearest sturdy building or shelter immediately, using your seat belt if driving.
Do not wait until you see the tornado.
If you are caught outdoors, seek shelter in a basement, shelter or sturdy building. If you cannot quickly walk to a shelter:
- Immediately get into a vehicle, buckle your seat belt and try to drive to the closest sturdy shelter.
- If flying debris occurs while you are driving, pull over and park. Now you have the following options as a last resort:
- Stay in the car with the seat belt on. Put your head down below the windows, covering with your hands and a blanket if possible.
- If you can safely get noticeably lower than the level of the roadway, exit your car and lie in that area, covering your head with your hands.
- Your choice should be driven by your specific circumstances.

What To Do After A Tornado

Continue listening to local news or a NOAA Weather Radio for updated information and instructions.
If you are away from home, return only when authorities say it is safe to do so.
Wear long pants, a long-sleeved shirt and sturdy shoes when examining your walls, doors, staircases and windows for damage.
Watch out for fallen power lines or broken gas lines and report them to the utility company immediately.
Stay out of damaged buildings.
Use battery-powered flashlights when examining buildings – do NOT use candles.
If you smell gas or hear a blowing or hissing noise, open a window and get everyone out of the building quickly and call the gas company or fire department.
Take pictures of damage, both of the building and its contents, for insurance claims.
Use the telephone land line only for emergency calls.
Keep all of your animals under your direct control.
Clean up spilled medications, bleaches, gasoline or other flammable liquids that could become a fire hazard.
Check for injuries. If you are trained, provide first aid to persons in need until emergency responders arrive.

Information courtesy of the Red Cross at www.RedCross.com.

Farmers' Almanac Staff

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