How to prepare for a tornado
A tornado warning gives minutes, so every decision has to be made in advance. Which room, how the alert reaches you at night and what to do with no shelter.
Almost every other disaster gives time to think. A tornado gives ten to fifteen minutes, sometimes less, and often arrives at night, in rain, with the power already out. That means nothing useful can be decided during the event. All of the decisions have to be made now.
There are really only three: where you go, how the warning reaches you, and what happens if you are not at home when it does.
Watch and warning are not the same word
| Tornado watch | Tornado warning | |
|---|---|---|
| Means | Conditions are favourable across a large area | One has been detected or indicated on radar |
| Covers | Multiple counties, several hours | A small area, minutes |
| What you do | Review the plan, move if you are in a mobile home, stay reachable | Go to shelter now |
The watch is the part people ignore and the part that is actually useful, because it is the only window in which you can move, charge, gather or travel. The full difference.
Choose the place now
The principle is simple: as many walls between you and outside as possible, as low as possible, and no windows.
- Basement or storm cellar if there is one, under something sturdy.
- Otherwise the lowest floor, innermost room — a windowless bathroom, closet or hallway.
- Get under something solid and cover your head and neck. Head injury is what kills.
- Not in a mobile or manufactured home, ever.
- Not under an overpass, which concentrates wind and debris.
- Not in a large open-span room — gyms, warehouses, big-box interiors — because those roofs fail first. Picking the safest room.
Make sure the warning reaches you at night
Outdoor sirens are designed to be heard outdoors, not to wake someone asleep behind a closed window in a rainstorm. A large share of tornado deaths are among people who were asleep.
- A weather radio with automatic alerting, in the bedroom.
- Wireless emergency alerts enabled on every phone, with the volume up.
- A backup that does not need mains power or cell service.
During
- Go immediately when a warning is issued for your location. Do not go outside to look.
- Take the phone, a light and shoes, and nothing else.
- Cover up. Under a table or workbench, mattress or blankets over the body, arms over head and neck.
- Stay put until it has passed, and then a few minutes longer — storms often produce more than one.
If you are outdoors or in a car
There is no good option here, only less bad ones.
- Get into a sturdy building if one is reachable in the time you have.
- If the tornado is distant and traffic is clear, drive at right angles to its path.
- If it is close, leave the vehicle and lie flat in a low spot, covering your head — but only if you cannot reach a building.
- Never stop under an overpass. Caught in a car or outdoors.
The ZonaProtec monitor shows official tornado watches and warnings in effect at a point you search, alongside the rest of the threats near you.
Guides
- The safest place in your house during a tornado As low, as interior and with as few exterior walls as possible. How to pick your shelter depending on the kind of home you live in.
- What to do if a tornado catches you in your car or outdoors A car is one of the worst places to be and an overpass is worse still. What to do when there is no sturdy building anywhere nearby.
- Tornado watch vs warning: the difference that counts A watch says conditions are favourable; a warning says one has been detected. The gap between them can be a matter of minutes.
Gear that covers this
Products that match what the guide above recommends.
Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. This does not change the price you pay or the recommendations we make.
- View on Amazon
Weather radio with alerts
Most tornado deaths are among people who were asleep. A radio that sounds automatically is what wakes a household at 2 a.m.
- View on Amazon
Helmets for everyone
Head injury is the leading cause of tornado deaths. Any bike or sports helmet kept in the shelter spot is a meaningful reduction.
- View on Amazon
Sturdy shoes kept in the shelter
The ground after a tornado is nails, glass and splintered wood, and shoes are what people are missing when they come out.
Frequently asked questions
How much warning does a tornado warning give?
Typically ten to fifteen minutes, and sometimes none at all. That is enough time to get to a place you have already chosen, and not enough to decide where that place should be or to gather anything.
Is a mobile home safe if it is tied down?
No. Manufactured housing is where a large share of tornado deaths occur, at any tie-down standard and at relatively low wind speeds. The plan for a mobile home is to leave it for a sturdy building or a community shelter as soon as a watch is issued, not when the warning comes.
Should I open the windows to equalise pressure?
No. That is an old idea that has been disproven: pressure is not what destroys houses, wind and debris are. Opening windows wastes the seconds you need and lets debris in.
What if I am in a car?
Drive at right angles away from the storm if it is distant and traffic allows, otherwise get into a sturdy building. Do not shelter under an overpass — it accelerates wind and debris — and a ditch is a last resort, not a plan.