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Prepare in Advance
State emergency management officials make a number of recommendations in putting together a plan and implementing it in the event of a tornado watch or warning. A tornado watch means that weather conditions are likely to produce a tornado, while a warning means a tornado has formed and might touch down nearby. The most important step is to have a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio to receive broadcasts of tornado watches and warnings. Thereafter, you will need to have a plan in place to respond to either event. Sometimes, there is little time between a watch and a warning, so preparation is critically important. You should go over your plan with everyone well before a disaster or state-wide drill.
Tornado Watches
When you receive a broadcast on the NOAA Weather Radio indicating a tornado watch for your area, state officials recommend you to continue monitoring for a warning and take some precautions. At this point, you will need to designate someone in charge, inform everyone in the household or business and prepare to evacuate to areas of the home of business susceptible to the tornado.
Tornado Warnings
Immediately upon receiving a tornado warning, it is important to move quickly. If everyone has yet to evacuate to safer areas, now is the time to do so without hesitation. If the threat is immediate and you cannot get to cover in time, everyone should duck and cover their heads with their hands. Stay down until the tornado passes.
If you have time to evacuate, go to the lowest floor, basement or interior room of the building. Avoid rooms with glass. If in a mobile home or car, get to a more stable building; if outside, lay face-down in a ditch or depression and cover your head with your hands. Even inside stable structures you should have plenty of thick blankets available for everyone to wrap in to protect from flying debris.
Mitigating the Effects of a Tornado
Statewide plans for tornadoes are designed to mainly deal with the aftermath. State officials will tell you what to do and how to react to a tornado watch and warning, but you are on your own thereafter until the tornado passes. The aftermath is a different story. Most states that deal with tornadoes on a regular basis will have comprehensive plans in place to mobilize state and community resources to provide aid, assistance, clean-up, search and rescue, and emergency medical services. Immediately after a tornado, you should account for everyone in the household or business and follow your state's procedures for handling an emergency. This is why your state's severe weather awareness is important. When you participate, you will learn what resources your state has available and how to access them when needed after a tornado.