During a Severe Thunderstorm or Tornado

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH!
A severe thunderstorm watch means that conditions are favorable for a severe thunderstorm to develop. Take necessary precautions. Be aware of any rapid changes, in weather conditions. Monitor local radio, television networks, or your weather alert radio for further potential developments.

TORNADO WATCH!
A tornado watch means that conditions are favorable for a tornado to develop. "Watch the skies!" Take necessary precautions, be aware of rapid changes in weather conditions. Monitor local radio, television networks, or your weather alert radio.

TORNADO WARNING!
A tornado warning means that dangerous weather is already occurring. The condition is eminent. A tornado has been sighted or indicated by radar. TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY!

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING AND TORNADO WATCH!
These two conditions indicate that dangerous weather is very likely. TAKE COVER and monitor your local radio and television networks for further details. Tornadoes can suddenly develop from Severe Thunderstorms, for which the National Weather Service has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning, while a Tornado Watch is already posted.

Be aware of dangerous lightning, hail, damaging winds, and possible flash flooding. Take all necessary precautions.

THUNDERSTORM SAFETY:
If you can hear thunder, you are close enough to the storm to be struck by lightning. Go to a safe shelter immediately!

LIGHTNING, one of natures most spectacular wonders! It is also one of its most deadly and common sights. It has been estimated that lightning strikes the earth 100 times each second.

Deaths and injuries from lightning can be avoided if people take the proper precautions. One thing to remember; all thunderstorms produce lightning.

IF LIGHTNING THREATENS, move indoors. Once inside, avoid doors, windows and metal objects. Avoid using electrical appliances. Use the telephone only in an emergency. Avoid taking a bath or shower, or running water for any purpose. Metal pipes, electrical and telephone lines can conduct electricity. Turn-off air condition; power surges from lightning can overload the compressor causing costly repairs.

IF DRIVING, stay in your automobile. An enclosed automobile offers reasonably good protection from lightning.

OUTDOORS, stay away from isolated trees. If your hair stands on end or your skin tingles, lightning may be about to strike. Crouch down quickly and become a low target.

TORNADO SAFETY:

IN HOMES AND SMALL BUILDINGS:

• Stay away from windows, doors and outside walls.
• Go to the basement or the center of the house on the lowest level, such as a bathroom or closet.
• Get under a sturdy object, such as a desk, workbench or staircase.
• Protect your head, eyes and extremities from flying debris.

"In a 1982 Illinois tornado, a man ran with his wife and year old daughter into a bathroom in the center of their house (the home had no basement). Once in the bathroom, the mother and child crouched down in the bathtub, while the man lay on the floor beside them." "We could hear the house come apart," the father said. All that was left was the bathroom and two interior walls, but the family survived".

State Farm fire and Casualty Company
National Coordinating Council on Emergency Management

IN SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS, AND PUBLIC PLACES:

• Move to designated shelter areas.
• Interior hallways or small rooms on lowest level. Avoid areas with glass and wide, freespan roofs.
• Get under something sturdy such as a desk, table, or a staircase.
• Protect your head, eyes and extremities from flying debris.

AT A STORE OR SHOPPING MALL:

• Move to designated shelter areas.
• Move to the center of the lowest level of the building, away from windows and glass. (back of the store, dressing rooms, rest rooms, interior hallways)
• Lie flat, protect your head, eyes and extremities from flying debris.

"As a March 1994 tornado threatened the city of Bennettsville, S.C., shoppers and employees at a shopping center there huddled together on the floor. Within seconds, the plaza was left a tangle of cinder blocks, twisted steel beams and broken merchandise. Incredibly, no one inside was killed. One shopper in particular recalls lying on the floor, shielding the body of an infant she did not know as the building seemed to dissolve around her."

State Farm fire and Casualty Company
National Coordinating Council on Emergency Management

IN MOBILE HOME or MANUFACTURED HOME:
Go to a prearranged shelter or talk to a friend or relative ahead of time to see if you can go to their house when the weather turns bad. If you live in a mobile home park, talk to management about the availability of nearby shelter. If no emergency plan exists, consider setting up a neighborhood information program. Hold briefings on safety procedures as tornado season approaches.

• Leave the mobile home, even if your mobile home has tie-downs, and go to a more substantial shelter at the first sign of severe weather.
• As a last resort, go outside and lie flat on the ground with your hands over your head and neck.
• Be alert for flash floods that often accompany such storms.

"When a November 1994 tornado struck Melborune, Fla., 68 mobile homes in two adjacent mobile home parks were destroyed. A 67-year-old woman and her 18-year-old granddaughter were away that night, visiting friends. "If either one of us had been here, we would have been dead," said the grandmother. "It was a matter of 10 seconds".

State Farm fire and Casualty Company
National Coordinating Council on Emergency Management

OUTDOORS WITH NO SHELTER AVAILABLE:

• Lie down in a crouching position and shield your head, eyes and extremities. Stay away from overhead power lines and objects that may fall on you.

IN YOUR VEHICLE:
Tornadoes can toss cars large distances - even large trucks - around like toys!

• Do Not Try To Outrun A Tornado!
• If a tornado is distant, drive away from it at right angles.
• If the tornado is near, get out of your car and get in a crouching position in the nearest ditch, protect your head with your arms.

"A March 1991 tornado destroyed a water tower and residential neighborhood in Cambridge, Kansas. A man driving his pickup truck saw the tornado and was able to abandon his truck, get in a ditch and cover his head just in time to watch his vehicle be swept away by the powerful funnel cloud."

State Farm fire and Casualty Company
National Coordinating Council on Emergency Management

TORNADO MYTHS

MYTH:Areas, near rivers, lakes and mountains are safe from tornadoes
FACT:No place is safe from tornadoes. They can cross rivers, travel up mountains, and roar through valleys.

MYTH:Low pressure with a tornado causes buildings to "explode" as the tornado passes overhead.
FACT:Violent winds and debris slamming into buildings cause most structural damage.

MYTH:Windows should be opened before a tornado to equalize pressure and minimize damage.
FACT:Opening windows allows damaging winds to enter the structure. Leave the windows alone; instead immediately go to a safe place.