Department of Public Safety

Table of Contents

1. What is the difference between a WATCH and a WARNING ?
2. What do I need to make a Tornado or Severe Weather Safety Plan?
3. What are warning signs of a tornado?
4. What should I do after the severe weather passes?
5. How are Tornados rated?

What is the difference between a WATCH and a WARNING ?

TORNADO or SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH Issued by the National Weather Service for conditions which may produce tornados or severe thunderstorms are expected to develop. Continue normal activities, but have a safety plan in mind, and be ready to implement it if a warning is issued.

Take shelter if you see or hear a tornado or threatening weather approaching. There may not be time for an official warning.

TORNADO or SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING

Broadcast when a tornado or severe thunderstorm has been detected. The warning will tell you the location, and movement of the severe weather. Implement your safety plan immediately.

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What do I need to make a Tornado or Severe Weather Safety Plan?

HOMES: Have a NOAA Weather Radio, with tone alert. Closely monitor commercial radio and TV during threatening weather. Select a "safe room", usually the smallest interior room with stout walls (such as a bathroom or closet) on the lowest floor. A basement, if available, is safest. As a last resort, take cover under heavy furniture, such as a tipped-over upholstered couch or chair, in the center part of the house.

MOBILE HOMES: Have a NOAA Weather Radio, Select a leader to monitor radio and TV, watch the skies, and sound a warning. Tie-downs will generally not protect a mobile home against tornadic wind gusts. There should be a designated community shelter where residents can assemble during a tornado warning. Even if such a shelter is not available, do not stay in a mobile home when a tornado is approaching. Go to a neighbors house if possible or seek refuge in a ditch or culvert as a last resort.

SCHOOLS: All schools should have a plan for rapid dissemination of Watches and Warnings. Every school should have a NOAA Weather Radio with Specific Area Message Encoder (SAME) alert capability. Monitor commercial radio and TV stations. Each school should have a designated shelter area, such as an interior hall on the lowest floor, and drills should be conducted periodically. If a tornado or severe thunderstorm watch or warning is issued, staff members should be posted to watch for the approach of threatening weather.

During a tornado or severe thunderstorm WATCH, move all students to a permanent building of reinforced construction, including those in "portable" classrooms or those outside on playgrounds or ball fields. Buses can continue to operate.

When a tornado or severe thunderstorm WARNING is issued, or severe weather is sighted, move students quickly to the designated shelter. As a last resort, in a classroom, have students crouch under desks and cover their heads. Do not remain in auditoriums, gymnasiums, cafeterias, or other structures with wide free-span roofs. School buses operations should halt during a WARNING. Bus drivers should be taught that, if caught by an approaching tornado or severe thunderstorm, students should be rushed to the nearest sturdy structure, or as a last resort, to a ditch, where they should lie face down and cover their heads. DO NOT STAY IN A SCHOOL BUS!

AUTOMOBILES AND OTHER VEHICLES: Vehicles are easily overturned in tornados or severe thunderstorm winds. Abandon your vehicle and seek refuge in a sturdy building, or as a last resort, in a ditch or culvert. Do not try to outrun the tornado!

OFFICE BUILDINGS, CONDOMINIUMS AND HOTELS: Take shelter in an interior hallway on a lower floor. If on an upper floor, a closet or a small room with stout walls (bathroom), or an inside hallway will give some protection against flying debris. Otherwise, get under heavy furniture and away from windows.

FACTORIES, AUDITORIUMS, AND OTHER LARGE BUILDINGS WITH FREE-SPAN ROOFS: Occupants should move quickly to the section of the building offering the greatest protection such as basements or small interior rooms. Otherwise, seek shelter in nearby sturdy buildings if time permits.

OPEN COUNTRY: Seek inside shelter, if nearby and time permits. If there is no time, lie flat in the nearest depression, such as a ditch or culvert and cover your head with your arms. If no ditch is nearby, a vehicle may provide some shelter from flying debris by crawling under it.

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What are warning signs of a tornado?

Here are some of the things that people describe when they tell about a tornado experience:

• A sickly greenish or greenish black color to the sky.
• If there is a watch or warning posted, then the fall of hail should be considered as a real danger sign. Hail can be common in some areas, however, and usually has no tornado activity along with it.
• A strange quiet that occurs within or shortly after the thunderstorm.
• Clouds moving by very fast, especially in a rotating pattern or converging toward one area of the sky.
• A sound a little like a waterfall or rushing air at first, but turning into a roar as it comes closer. The sound of a tornado has been likened to that of both railroad trains and jets.
• Debris dropping from the sky.
• An obvious "funnel-shaped" cloud that is rotating, or debris such as branches or leaves being pulled upwards, even if no funnel cloud is visible.

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What should I do after the severe weather passes ?

After the storm passes, you can be a vital link to Emergency Services in the following ways:

• Help injured or trapped persons.
• Give first aid when appropriate.
• Don't try to move the seriously injured unless they are in immediate danger of further injury.
• Call for help.
• Turn on radio or television to get the latest emergency information.
• Stay out of damaged buildings. Return home only when authorities say it is safe.
• Use the telephone only for emergency calls.
• Clean up spilled medicines, bleaches, or gasoline or other flammable liquids immediately. Leave the buildings if you smell gas or chemical fumes.
• Take pictures of the damage--both to the house and its contents--for insurance purposes.

Remember to help your neighbors who may require special assistance--infants, the elderly, and people with disabilities.

INSPECTING UTILITIES IN A DAMAGED HOME

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 at the outside main valve if you can and call the gas company from a neighbor's home. If you turn off the gas for any reason, it must be turned back on by a professional.

Look for electrical system damage--If you see sparks or broken or frayed wires, or if you smell hot insulation, turn off the electricity at the main fuse box or circuit breaker. If you have to step in water to get to the fuse box or circuit breaker, call an electrician first for advice.

Check for sewage and water lines damage--If you suspect sewage lines are damaged, avoid using toilets and call a plumber. If water pipes are damaged, contact the water company and avoid using water from the tap. You can obtain safe water by melting ice cubes.

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How are tornados rated?

Fujita - Pearson Tornado Scale

F-0: 40-72 mph, chimney damage, tree branches broken
F-1: 73-112 mph, mobile homes pushed off foundation or overturned
F-2: 113-157 mph, considerable damage, mobile homes demolished, trees uprooted
F-3: 158-205 mph, roofs and walls torn down, trains overturned, cars thrown
F-4: 207-260 mph, well-constructed walls leveled
F-5: 261-318 mph, homes lifted off foundation and carried considerable distances, autos thrown as far as 100 meters

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