9 Severe Weather Safety Tips That Could Save Your Life

 Jonathan Erdman

Published: April 28, 2021

Some severe weather safety tips are probably well known.

When a tornado warning is issued, you should head to a basement, an interior room on the lowest floor away from windows, or an alternate storm shelter if you live in a manufactured home.

But there are other important safety tips you may not have thought about, some of which could save your life.

1. Never drive through a flooded road.

You're running late and you find a stretch of a familiar street ahead of you is flooded.

Should you: A) Hit the gas and plow through it or B) Turn around and find another route.

The correct answer is B every single time.

Driving through flood water is one of the worst decisions you can make in severe weather situations.

First, it may be difficult to tell how deep the water is. It only takes about 1 foot of water to float a car or small SUV. Once your vehicle floats, you've lost control. You're like a boat without a motor or paddles.

Second, the road under the floodwater may have been washed away. Sometimes a culvert or bridge is overwhelmed by water, or debris carried by the water leaving an entire section of road wiped away. This makes driving at night in areas covered by a flash flood warning particularly dangerous.

A driver was rescued from this car that ran into a washed-out road near Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, as severe weather moved through on April 27-28.

And if the flood water is moving, you could easily be swept downstream by the water's force.

In 2020, 37 of the 59 flood-related deaths in the U.S. occurred in vehicles, according to the National Weather Service.

Take the extra few minutes to find an alternate route, rather than risking your life. As the NWS says, "Turn around. Don't drown."

2. Flooding can happen from rain elsewhere.

You're probably familiar with larger-scale river flooding that can occur days after heavy rain upstream along, say, the Mississippi, Missouri or Ohio rivers.

But sometimes dangerous, short-lived flash flooding can arrive in an area where it hasn't rained.

This can happen in higher terrain, particularly the mountain West in summer.

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A thunderstorm over mountainous terrain can send fast-moving runoff careening down the slope. If you're hiking near a normally dry river bed or in a slot canyon, this fast-rushing water can be deadly.

In May 2020, one such flash flood killed two hikers in a Utah slot canyon.

If you're hiking or camping near a river, be aware of the weather forecast. If rain or thunderstorms are in the forecast, know how to get to higher ground immediately, if a flash flood warning is issued.

3. There often is more than one round of severe weather in a given day.

We'd like to think that severe weather sweeps through, then the skies clear and we're done with it for a while.

Quite often, though, it's not that simple.

It's common in the nation's mid-section for there to be a morning round of thunderstorms with heavy rain and strong winds, followed by a late-afternoon or evening round of thunderstorms with tornadoes, hail and damaging winds.

An extreme example of this was the April 2011 super outbreak, which consisted of three separate rounds of tornado-producing severe thunderstorms in the Southeast on April 27.

Until the National Weather Service clears your area from a severe thunderstorm, tornado or flash flood watch, don't assume you're in the clear after one round of severe thunderstorms passes through. There could be another severe thunderstorm moving toward your area in the next hour. Or your area could be threatened later in the day or night.

National radar loop from 7:01 a.m. to 11:03 p.m. CT, April 27, 2011, illustrating the three rounds of severe t-storms in the Deep South and Tennessee Valley.

4. Tornado sirens aren't designed to be heard indoors.

I grew up a block away from a tornado siren and recall many nights being jarred out of bed by its loud blast.

But don't count on a siren to warn you inside your home, or wake you at night.

Tornado sirens are meant to warn those outdoors to seek shelter. You may live too far away from the nearest siren to hear it.

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It's better to have multiple ways of receiving National Weather Service watches and warnings, including NOAA Weather Radio and an alert from your smartphone.

Make sure your smartphone is fully charged and its do not disturb function is turned off at night when severe weather is forecast, so an alert can wake you.

An example of a Wireless Emergency Alert received by smartphone.

5. Tornadoes can occur in severe thunderstorm watches and warnings.

Just because the National Weather Service issues a severe thunderstorm watch or warning doesn't mean there isn't also a threat of tornadoes.

When a severe thunderstorm watch is issued, the NWS is most concerned about the threats of damaging thunderstorm winds or large hail, or both. Occasionally, however, they'll specify "a few tornadoes possible" in the severe thunderstorm watch, which cover situations where rotation in lines or clusters of storms could lead to brief tornadoes.

Similarly, the NWS may issue a severe thunderstorm warning for a thunderstorm that develops in an environment favorable for tornadoes, but doesn't yet exhibit strong rotation, inserting "a tornado is possible" into the warning.

In these situations, a tornado could develop with relatively little or no advanced warning.

Which leads to the next tip...

6. Take shelter for severe thunderstorm warnings, too.

We've written about this topic before, but severe thunderstorm warnings deserve your attention just as much as tornado warnings.

In 2019, there were 16,064 reports of strong thunderstorm wind gusts or wind damage in the U.S., over 10 times the number of confirmed tornadoes (1,517), according to NOAA's Storm Prediction Center. These strong thunderstorm winds killed 38 people and injured another 202 according to NOAA.

It doesn't take a tornado to send a tree crashing down onto your home or vehicle.

If you have large trees around your home, you may want to seek shelter on the lowest floor, preferably in the basement, if a severe thunderstorm warning is issued with the potential for damaging straight-line winds.

Before thunderstorms threaten, keep healthy trees trimmed and remove any trees, particularly dead ones, leaning toward your house.

7. You may not have much time to seek shelter.

National Weather Service warnings are typically issued with sufficient lead time to allow you to safely move to shelter before the storm arrives.

But that's not always the case.

If a thunderstorm first develops strong rotation near your location, you won't have much time to head to shelter when that initial tornado warning is issued.

You may also not have as much time if storms are moving fast. Individual supercell thunderstorms or lines of thunderstorms with widespread wind damage known as derechos can sometimes move with forward speeds of over 60 mph.

Seek shelter immediately when receiving a severe thunderstorm or tornado warning. Don't waste precious seconds or minutes looking out the window. You may not have as much time as you think.

8. Wear a helmet and shoes when taking shelter.

During the April 27, 2011 super outbreak, an eight-year old boy put on his baseball helmet before a tornado struck his home in the west Birmingham, Alabama, suburb of Pleasant Grove.

According to the story passed along by ABC 33/40 meteorologist James Spann, experts believe that helmet may have saved his life.

So, if time permits, put on a helmet when taking shelter from a tornado, whether it's a bike, baseball, football, motorcycle or work helmet. Anything that can protect your head from flying debris could make the difference.

Getting under a heavy table or covering yourself with a mattress or blanket can also provide some protection.

Finally, put on a good, sturdy pair of shoes or boots. If your home is damaged, there may be debris with sharp edges, broken glass and exposed nails on the ground that could be a danger. You may not be able to locate your shoes if the storm heavily damages your home.

9. Lightning can strike several miles away from a thunderstorm.

Lightning is a danger even if it isn't raining.

According to NOAA, lightning often strikes ground more than 3 miles from the center of the thunderstorm.

"Bolts from the blue" - named because these lightning strikes appear to come from clear sky - can strike over 15 miles away from a thunderstorm. One such Florida bolt struck over 20 miles away.

The best way to stay out of danger from these distant lightning strikes is to be weather aware and use common sense.

If the sky is darkening and particularly if you hear thunder, you're in danger. Head indoors or into a vehicle immediately until the storm passes.

Some weather apps - such as The Weather Channel app - will send you a lightning alert if a strike occurs nearby.

Still photo from video of a "bolt from the blue" striking a tree on Aug. 10, 2020, in Lutz, Florida.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.