Severe Weather Awareness Week: 5 Tips to Stay Safe During Severe Weather

Photo Courtesy of redorbit.com

by Catherine Carlton, volunteer contributor

Severe weather has threatened nearly every part of the country already this year. The American Red Cross has steps you can take to help stay safe if dangerous storms threaten their neighborhood.

Step one: Refresh your household disaster plans. Jim Cantore, The Weather Channel meteorologist and member of the American Red Cross Celebrity Cabinet, offers tips on what to do now to be ready when emergency strikes.

Step two: Download the free Red Cross tornado app for mobile devices. The tornado app puts everything you need to know to stay safe in a tornado at your fingertips.

Step three: Thunderstorms are most likely to happen in the spring and summer, during the afternoon and evening. However, like tornadoes, they can happen anywhere, at any hour of the day. Watch for storm signs and go inside. If you are outside or driving, there are things you should do to remain safe. Information about what to do before, during and after a thunderstorm is available on this web site.

Step four: Spring can be a time of year for flooding. People should be prepared to evacuate at a moment’s notice and head for higher ground when a flood or flash flood warning is issued. Other safety steps include

Step five: The Red Cross first aid app (DOWNLOAD APPS FOR MOBILE DEVICES) puts expert advice for everyday emergencies at someone’s fingertips. The shelter finder lets someone know where Red Cross shelters are open. The free apps can be downloaded from the iTunes or Google Play stores by searching for American Red Cross.

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Thor Worthy Thunderstorms

Written by Kyla Campbell, staff contributor

When storms roll across Texas they can seem like they were sent by the sundering force of Thor himself. Thunderous billows crack the heavens and leave the sky, and all the earthly creatures, crying for mercy.

OK. While that may be a bit melodramatic, thunderstorms—especially severe ones like we might be receiving later this afternoon and evening—should be taken seriously.

Here's a rundown on how you can prepare for Thor-like forces and what to do in case he raises his massive (and gorgeous) arms to the heavens today.

Click for complete list of preparedness tips

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Protecting Yourself from Hail and High Water: Thunderstorm and Hail Safety Tips

Written by Lilly Watson l Communications Assignment Coordinator

Before bringing those May flowers we hope to see in a few short weeks, April showers bring a heightened chance of thunderstorms and hail. These weather outbreaks are able to move from nothing to severe quickly, so it is important to know your steps to safety no matter where you are when it hits your area. It is always safest to be indoors during a storm, but we have tips today on preventative measures you can take to stay as safe as possible no matter where you are caught in the storms.

If you are indoors:

Stay away from windows and sky lights that can break from hail damage.

Avoid using the phone or electrical appliances to steer clear of the danger of electrocution should your house be struck by lightning.

Make sure everyone in your home is accounted for and in one general area.

If you are outdoors:

Seek shelter immediately. If you cannot find anywhere to go, find an object that can help you protect your head from large hail.

Remember that using trees for shelter is a last resort. Trees can lose branches during a storm and isolated trees may attract lighting.

If you are caught driving when the storm hits:

Stop driving. If you can see a safe place close-by to drive to (such as inside of a garage, under a highway overpass, or under a service station awning), do so as soon as you can. Make sure you pull completely off the highway.

Stay in the vehicle until it stops hailing. Your car will furnish reasonable protection.

Pull beneath and overpass or gas station awning to protect your windshield from hail.

Lay across your seat with your back to the car windows to protect your face and eyes. If you have a blanket in your car place it over yourself to guard you should your windshield break from hail damage. Also cover any children in the car, making sure their eyes are covered, and put any very small children beneath you, also covering their eyes.

Avoid low areas or pulling into ditches so your car cannot be swept away by rising water or deep hail.

For more information on Red Cross preparedness, visit redcrossdallas.org.

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Know the Signs, Know the Difference

Disaster does not discriminate and nobody is immune. That fact has been made painfully clear in less than one month with record setting tornado outbreaks and destruction. Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee and now Missouri are just a few of the areas in the Midwest that have experienced such devastation. Rural or urban, a hospital or a barn, it didn’t matter - the storms hit where they hit. And, yes, it can happen here too.

As these storms come into the area, you need to know the warning signs severe thunderstorms and tornadoes sometimes give and the difference between a watch and a warning. This knowledge could be the difference between getting to safety in time and getting caught unprepared.

Watch: Severe weather or tornado is possible in and near the watch area. Review and discuss your emergency plans, and check supplies and your safe room. Be ready to act quickly if a warning is issued or you suspect severe weather is approaching. Acting early helps to save lives!

Warning: Severe weather or a tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar. Warnings indicate imminent danger to life and property. Go immediately underground to a basement, storm cellar or an interior room (closet, hallway or bathroom).

Tornadoes are deadly and can strike without warning. Keep listening to your weather radio for potential tornado warnings in your area. If a warning is issued for your area, head to a sturdy shelter immediately or if you notice any of the following tornado danger signs:

• 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

A thunderstorm is considered severe if it produces hail at least one inch in diameter or has wind gusts of at least 58 miles per hour. Every thunderstorm produces lightning, which kills more people each year than tornadoes or hurricanes. Heavy rain from thunderstorms can cause flash flooding and high winds can damage homes and blow down trees and utility poles, causing widespread power outages.

Refer to these tips to help you prepare and keep you safe at home, at work and on the road.

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