Before Tornado Season
Identify Your Safe Room
Lowest floor of your home, interior room with no windows. Bathroom, closet, or hallway. Under a staircase is good. Know exactly where you're going BEFORE a warning comes — you won't have time to figure it out.
Build an Emergency Kit
Water (1 gallon per person per day for 3 days), flashlight, batteries, first aid kit, medications, phone charger/power bank, important documents in a waterproof bag, cash, shoes (you'll walk through debris).
Get Multiple Warning Sources
Don't rely on one source. NOAA Weather Radio (battery-powered), StormCast on your phone, local TV weather apps, outdoor warning sirens. If one fails, the others catch it.
Practice With Your Family
Everyone in your household should know the safe room, where the emergency kit is, and what to do. Practice the drill twice a year. Kids need to be able to do it without you telling them.
Document Your Property
Walk through your home and take video of every room, including closets and the garage. Store it in the cloud. This makes insurance claims dramatically faster if your home is damaged.
During a Tornado Warning
At Home
Go to your safe room immediately. Get under a heavy table or mattress. Cover your head and neck. Stay away from windows, doors, and outside walls. Don't open windows — that's a myth.
At Work or School
Go to the designated shelter area (usually an interior hallway on the lowest floor). Avoid large open rooms like gyms, cafeterias, and auditoriums — the roof span makes them vulnerable to collapse.
In a Vehicle
Do NOT try to outrun it. Drive to the nearest sturdy building. If you can't, pull over, keep your seatbelt on, duck below the windows, and cover your head. A ditch is better than a car. An overpass is NOT safe.
In a Mobile Home
Get out immediately and go to a nearby permanent structure or storm shelter. No mobile home is safe in a tornado, regardless of tie-downs. This is the #1 cause of tornado deaths.
After the Tornado
Watch for Hazards
Downed power lines, gas leaks, broken glass, nails in debris, unstable structures. Wear shoes. Don't enter damaged buildings until they're inspected.
Check In
Text (don't call) family and friends — texts go through when cell networks are jammed. Use social media check-in features.
Document Damage
Photograph everything before cleanup. Contact your insurance company as soon as possible. Keep receipts for any emergency repairs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I don't have a basement or interior room without windows?
Get to the lowest floor, in the smallest interior room, as far from exterior walls and windows as possible — a closet or bathroom under a stairwell is usually the best option in a home without a basement.
Should I open windows to equalize pressure before a tornado?
No — this is a myth. Opening windows does nothing to protect your house and wastes time you should spend getting to shelter. Modern homes are not "designed" to explode from pressure differences.
How often should I practice a tornado drill?
Twice a year is a reasonable minimum — once at the start of spring severe weather season and once before the secondary fall severe weather season in much of the country.
What if a tornado warning is issued while I'm asleep?
This is exactly why phone alerts matter — a properly configured weather app can override silent mode and wake you, which sirens (often not audible indoors) and TV alerts (useless while asleep) cannot guarantee.
Get Tornado Warnings on Your Phone
StormCast checks the NWS alert feed every 30 seconds and pushes tornado warnings to your phone immediately. Don't wait for the sirens.
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A note on this guide: This is general safety information, not medical or professional emergency advice, and specific criteria can vary by region. In an actual emergency, call 911 and follow instructions from local officials and the National Weather Service.