Your Guide to Stay Ahead of the Storm—Tornadoes

1/3/22 - Zoro Staff

Tornadoes are extremely dangerous—one of the most destructive forces in nature. They’ve been known to strike any state at any time of the year. That’s why it’s important to keep an eye on the sky and an ear to changing weather reports. Understanding a tornado warning and tornado watch and what makes them different, knowing what to do in a tornado, and creating a tornado emergency plan for your business are all ways you can stay safe during a tornado, should one occur.

Tornado Warning or Tornado Watch?

When it comes to severe weather, many people don’t understand the difference between a watch and a warning. It’s pretty simple:

A tornado watch means a tornado is possible. Weather conditions are right for producing a tornado, but one has not been spotted. Keep an eye on the weather and be ready to head for shelter immediately if a tornado occurs. A tornado watch usually lasts several hours.
A tornado warning, on the other hand, means a tornado has been visually confirmed or has been indicated by radar. Seek shelter immediately. A tornado warning usually lasts a much shorter time, typically 30 minutes to an hour.

When Is Tornado Season?

Forecasters do their best but weather patterns change during the year and can be somewhat unpredictable. However, there are certain times of the year when tornadoes and damaging wind are most likely. In the southern Plains states (including Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas) tornado season runs from May into early June. Early spring is peak time on the Gulf coast. June and July are the top tornado times for the upper Midwest (the Dakotas, Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota). Tornadoes and high wind can pop up any time of day (even at night), but are most common from 4pm to 9pm.

Where to Find Reliable Information

Trusted weather information can be found in many places so you can track any potential severe storms.

National Weather Service: Issuing all watches and warnings, the NWS is the primary source of weather information for the United States.
Local authorities: Many tornado-prone communities have outdoor warning sirens that are sounded in case of a tornado, strong wind, or other extremely severe weather. They are designed to tell people outdoors to seek shelter, not people already indoors. For people indoors, businesses should have a NOAA weather radio that provides watches, warnings, and forecasts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Local news stations: Many TV and some radio stations have meteorologists on staff who will report live if bad weather threatens.
Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs): These emergency messages are automatically sent to your phone through your wireless carrier by state and local public safety agencies, FEMA, the National Weather Service, and other authorized government authorities.

Create a Tornado Emergency Plan

Every business should have a tornado emergency management plan in place before a storm comes, one that all employees know and practice. This plan should:

Create a system for knowing who is in the building in the event of an emergency
Establish an employee warning system, test it frequently, and make sure warnings will be communicated to people with disabilities or those who don’t speak English
Account for workers, visitors, and customers as they arrive in the shelter with a prepared roster or checklist, and take a head count
Assign specific duties to employees in advance and create checklists for each specific responsibility; designate and train alternates in case the person is not available or is injured

Identify Shelter Locations

For indoor shelter, an underground area like a basement or storm shelter is ideal. If this is not available, keep these tips in mind when choosing your shelter area.

Stay in a small interior room or hallway on the lowest floor possible.
Stay away from doors, windows, and outside walls.
Stay in the center of the room and avoid corners because debris gets caught there.
Use rooms made with reinforced concrete, brick, or block with no windows and a heavy concrete floor or roof overhead.
AVOID large rooms with flat roofs such as cafeterias, gymnasiums, and auditoriums.

If employees are outside, they should:

Seek shelter in a basement or sturdy building if one is available within walking distance.
Try to drive in a vehicle to the nearest shelter, being sure to wear seatbelts. Stop the vehicle and duck down with heads covered below windows if there is flying debris.
Lay down in an area much lower than the roadway (do not hide under a bridge or overpass), covering their heads with their hands, if no shelter is available.

Practice Makes Perfect

With any tornado emergency plan, it must be practiced regularly so it can be performed smoothly in the event of a tornado warning.

Make sure all employees know what to do in case of an emergency
Practice sheltering plans on a regular basis
Update plans and procedures based on lessons learned during practice exercises

Create a Basic Disaster Supplies Kit (Including First Aid)

There’s no substitute for being prepared. Every business should have disaster supply kits and first aid kits readily available in case of an emergency, and the more kits easily available, the better.

Supplies that should be in each kit include:

Water
Battery-powered or hand-crank radio
Flashlights
First aid kit
Extra batteries for radios and flashlights
Whistle (to signal for help)
Dust masks
Cell phone charging packs (be sure to keep these charged)

Planning and Practice for Safety’s Sake

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Put together disaster supply kits, develop and practice a plan to get all employees to shelter as quickly and as safely as possible, and always be aware of the potential for severe weather.

Sources: National Weather Service | CDC | NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory | Ready.gov | OSHA