Texas Home Preparedness: Tornado Watches and Warnings

A tornado is a rotating column of air extending from a cumulonimbus cloud, a thunderstorm cloud, to the ground. The key features of a tornado are its funnel shape and powerful winds. Tornadoes are formed when warm, moist air meets cold, dry air, creating instability in the atmosphere. This occurs most frequently during severe thunderstorms. Tornadoes are among nature's most powerful and destructive forces, capable of causing severe and widespread damage to homes, commercial buildings, trees, and vehicles, and they can pick up and toss debris over long distances, furthering the extent of the destruction they leave behind.

While tornadoes can occur anywhere the conditions are right, there are specific states in "Tornado Alley," located in the central and southeastern parts of the United States, that are more prone to tornadoes touching down. States that experience more tornadoes than other parts of the country include Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Iowa. However, changes in weather patterns suggest that Tornado Alley may be shifting eastward, so it's important that everyone takes tornado watches and warnings very seriously when they are issued by the National Weather Service (NWS), which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To help communities stay safe and informed regarding the potential for a tornado to impact their area, meteorological agencies issue tornado watches and tornado warnings. Understanding the difference between the two types of weather alerts and knowing how to respond appropriately is crucial for protecting yourself, your family, your home, and your possessions.

Tornado Watch vs. Tornado Warning

Tornado Watch: A tornado watch means that the conditions are favorable for the development of tornadoes. This does not mean that a tornado has been spotted or is imminent, but it does mean that the atmosphere is conducive to the formation of severe thunderstorms and potentially tornadoes. A watch typically covers a large area and can last for several hours.
Tornado Warning: A tornado warning means that a tornado has been spotted either visually or with weather radar. This is a serious, immediate threat. Tornado warnings are typically issued for specific counties or towns and require prompt action.

How to Be Prepared for Tornadoes

Determine the Best Shelter Spot: Discuss safe shelter locations in your home, workplace, or school. Designate a shelter location, choosing an interior room on the lowest floor that's away from windows, such as a basement, bathroom, or closet. Doing this offers increased protection from flying debris, including broken glass, and is more structurally safe, as tornadoes tend to do more damage to the upper floors and roofs of buildings. If you have a basement, that is going to be the safest location.
Create an Emergency Kit: Include emergency essentials like bottled water, nonperishable food, a flashlight, batteries, a first-aid kit, medications, phone chargers and fully changed power banks, emergency blankets, and a battery-operated radio.
Establish a Communication Plan: Make sure that every family member knows how to contact each other in case of separation and who to contact in the event of an emergency. Choose a designated meeting place to gather after the danger has passed.
Keep Important Documents Safe: Store personal identification, insurance papers, and other critical documents and property in a waterproof, portable container.
Stay Informed: Use mobile weather apps, and/or tune into local news stations. You should also have a functional weather radio you can use if the power goes out. And be sure to enable emergency alerts on your phone.

What to Do During a Tornado Watch

Stay Alert: Monitor weather updates via radio, TV, and smartphone apps.
Review Safety Plans: Revisit your emergency plan with family members, confirming that everyone knows where to take shelter if the tornado watch escalates to a tornado warning and further action is needed.
Secure Outdoor Items: Store or secure outdoor furniture, grills, trash cans, and any items that have the potential to become dangerous projectiles if they're thrown around by high winds.
Check Emergency Supplies: Make sure that flashlights, radios, and other emergency items are easily accessible and powered.
Fuel Your Vehicle: If necessary, fill up your car's gas tank. This can help you save time and reduce stress in the event of an evacuation.
Stay Ready to Act: Be prepared to seek shelter if the watch is upgraded to a warning.

What to Do During a Tornado Warning

Take Shelter Immediately: If you're home or at work, go to your designated shelter location. If you are in a different building and need to identify a safe place to shelter:
1. Move to the lowest floor of the property, ideally a basement or storm cellar.
2. Stay in a small, windowless interior room or hallway.
3. Protect yourself with heavy furniture, mattresses, or blankets to shield against debris.
Don't Try to Outrun a Tornado: If you're driving when a warning is issued or you spot a tornado from your vehicle, drive to a sturdy shelter nearby and take cover. If no shelter is available, lie flat in a low-lying area like a ditch, then cover your head with your arms.
Avoid Windows and Doors: Flying glass and debris pose a severe risk. Stay away from exterior walls and windows.
Continue to Monitor Weather Alerts: Keep a weather radio or mobile device nearby to receive real-time updates. Do not leave your shelter until authorities confirm that the danger has passed.

Additional Resources

How to Prepare for a Tornado: Read a detailed guide to how to best prepare for and stay safe during a tornado.
A Tornado Preparedness Checklist: Provided by the Red Cross, this checklist can be followed in the event of a tornado watch or warning to help keep you and your family safe.
Tornado Terminology: Get a brief overview of the three levels of tornado alert and what each level (watch, warning, and emergency) means for you and your safety.
Removing Post-Disaster Debris: Cleaning up debris following a tornado or other weather emergency is important for every community, but you need to make sure that it's done safely.
Tornado Preparedness and Response: Preparedness and planning help to ensure the safety of everyone at their place of employment. OSHA provides preparedness information for employers here to help them keep their employees and their businesses safe.
Tornado Safety: Learn more about when and where to take shelter and how to best prepare for a tornado as well as some myths and facts you should know.
Safety Guidelines During a Tornado: Find out the steps that you can take to keep those you love safe in the face of the high winds and debris that are part and parcel of a tornado touching down.
Tornado Safety Tips for Families With Small Children: The experts at Save the Children offer useful tips for families with small children on how to stay safe during tornado season.
Tornado Safety for You and Your Family: Before, during, and after a tornado, there are best practices that you can put into place to keep yourself and your family safe at home.
Severe Weather 101: Tornadoes: Learn more about tornadoes and where they occur. Understanding the tornado weather alerts in areas of higher frequency can be critical to your safety.
Sheltering During a Tornado: Building a safe room in which to shelter in the event of a tornado warning can help to ensure the safety and well-being of families and small businesses.
What Are Tornadoes? Read a brief overview of what tornadoes are and how they are formed.
The Emotional Stress of Experiencing a Tornado or Severe Storm: Tornadoes can form quickly and can be a source of emotional distress. Learn more about the signs of emotional distress and who might experience it before, during, and after a severe storm.
Understanding the Risks and Signs of Tornadoes: This website offers information and suggestions on how to stay safe in your house or condo before and during a tornado. You can also learn more about what to do once the threat of a tornado has passed.
The American Psychological Association on Severe Storms and Children: Experiencing a tornado can cause feelings of anxiety and panic in children, but there are things that caregivers can do to help.

By: Jim Olenbush