Follow these tornado safety precautions to ensure the safety of your family and property. 

1. Create an emergency kit

The first step in mastering how to prepare for a tornado is creating an emergency kit for your household. Your kit should include:

• Water and non-perishable food to last at least three days.
• Medications and essential medical supplies.
• Flashlights, batteries, and battery-powered lanterns.
• Important documents, family contact details, and emergency cash.
• First aid supplies and instructions on how to use them.
• Work gloves, long pants, and thick-soled shoes for clean-up.
• Adequate food, water, and supplies for pets.

2. Sign up for notifications

Stay informed about what to do during a tornado by signing up for alerts from your community’s warning system. If sirens are part of your local emergency alert system (EAS), ensure all family members know the warning tone to listen out for so they can act swiftly.

Additionally, you should utilize NOAA weather radio for real-time updates. Local news and official tornado watch social media accounts may also provide critical information, and NOAA’s National Weather Service offers live updates on all current tornado watches. 

3. Have a tornado safety plan

A tornado emergency can occur at any time, so your plan should be designed based on the unique needs of your family routines and the type of home you live in. You may need plans that cover the following:

What to do during a tornado at home

Moving quickly to a pre-planned, safe location is essential. If you don’t have access to a dedicated safe room, storm cellar, or storm shelter built to ICC 500 standards, select a small interior room or hallway on the lowest floor and make sure all family members know to meet there when a tornado strikes. 

What to do in a tornado in a car

If the tornado is visible yet far away, you may be able to avoid its path by driving at a right angle. However, it’s best not to take unnecessary chances, as fallen power lines and flying debris can significantly impact driving conditions.

Therefore, the best tornado safety tips while driving are to park your car and seek safe shelter immediately. If that’s impossible, find a low-lying area to pull up in, keep your seat belt on, cover yourself with a coat or blanket, and position your head below window level until the danger has passed. 

What to do during a tornado in a mobile home

Mobile homes offer little protection. So, if a tornado warning is issued, you should leave and seek shelter immediately in the nearest safe location, which is likely a nearby building or community storm shelter. Wear thick-soled shoes to avoid injuries from debris such as broken glass, and wrap up in a coat or blanket to avoid breathing dust.

4. Practice your plan

Regularly practicing your plan ensures everyone in your household knows what to do during a tornado watch and where to go should a tornado come your way. Conduct drills to reinforce essential actions like:

• Moving to safe shelter points in the designated interior room or storm shelter
• Making phone calls to warn family members who are out of the house
• Taking adequate personal protection to stay warm and avoid breathing dust

It’s also advisable to regularly check that each household member has access to the most up-to-date weather reports and apps on their cell phones. Storm Shield is a particularly good choice,  as it’s a free app the whole family can use. 

How to stay safe during a tornado 

Let’s recap and help get your tornado safety plan finalized with this quick list of top tornado safety tips: 

1. Seek safe shelter immediately in a storm cellar, shelter, or small interior room on the lowest floor
2. Stay clear of windows and outside walls
3. Shield yourself with furniture or blankets
4. Cover your head and neck with your arms
5. Avoid using charcoal-burning devices or gas-fired generators in enclosed spaces, as this may lead to carbon monoxide poisoning

How to stay safe after a tornado 

Sustained caution is required even after a tornado passes to ensure ongoing safety and efficient recovery. Top safety tips for a tornado’s aftermath include the following action points:

• Never reenter damaged buildings until you’re told it’s safe to do so
• Inspect your home for broken utility lines and natural gas leaks, and notify the relevant authorities if you detect an issue
• Wear thick-soled shoes, long pants, work gloves, and a face covering to avoid breathing dust and mold during clean-up
• Avoid making phone calls unless it’s an emergency, so lines remain free for more essential community needs
• Continue listening to EAS, NOAA Weather Radio, and local news reports for updated information

Why are tornado safety precautions important?

Texas resides within an area nicknamed “Tornado Alley” has more tornadoes than any other state, averaging 137 per year, one-third of which happen in May. However, regardless of where your home is located in Texas, advanced preparation is paramount in protecting human life. 

Understanding tornado risks

Not every tornado watch will result in a tornado warning, so understanding the difference between these two terms is crucial:

• A tornado watch indicates that conditions are favorable for tornadoes. If you live in a watch area, you should monitor weather reports, be prepared to act, and be ready to move if a warning is issued
• Tornado warnings represent a more severe threat and require immediate action as they indicate a tornado has been sighted in your area or identified by radar

Affordable energy plans from BKVE

While knowing how to prepare for a tornado is essential, choosing the right energy provider is equally crucial. 

At BKVE, we understand the importance of reliable electricity, especially during and after extreme weather events. Unlike many other providers, our plans don’t include extra fees, complex jargon, or marketing gimmicks. We offer simple, straightforward options with transparent, easy-to-understand terms. 

Explore our range of homeowner energy plans today.

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Tornado season in Texas typically runs from April to June. May historically is the peak month for tornado formation.

This time of year often has the perfect conditions for the formation of tornadoes:

• Warm, humid air coming from the Gulf of Mexico
• Cold jet stream coming down from Canada

Per the National Weather Service, tornadoes can actually form at almost any time of the year in southeast Texas thanks to the proximity of the Gulf of Mexico.

How many tornadoes in Texas per year?

There are an average of 136 tornadoes per year according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Sitting in an active part of the Tornado Alley region, Texas is one of the most tornado-prone states in the U.S. Other states that have a high tornado activity are Kansas, Oklahoma, Florida, and Nebraska.

The worst tornadoes in Texas history

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), these are the worst tornadoes to have hit Texas since 1900.

Are tornadoes getting stronger?

According to the National Weather Service, the annual frequency of tornadoes in the United States has remained relatively constant throughout recorded history. Some data suggests that there has even been a slight decrease in EF4 and EF5 tornadoes.

At the same time, thanks to better tracking and prediction technology, the death toll from tornadoes across the nation has decreased significantly over the last 100 years. We’re better able to know when and where tornadoes will occur, which allows people to take cover and find safety before the tornado arrives.

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Tornadoes are rapidly rotating columns of air that are simultaneously in contact with the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud. These funnel clouds are visible to the human eye and often carry with them a surrounding cloud of debris and dust.

With intense destructive power from wind speeds that can exceed 300 miles per hour, tornadoes can wreck havoc on buildings, throw cars, and toss large debris through the air.

The severity of a tornado is measured with the Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF Scale) that ranges from EFO (weakest) to EF5 (strongest).

How do tornadoes form step by step?

Tornadoes form from severe thunderstorms, typically known as supercells, which have a rotating updraft called a mesocyclone.

Here’s the basic process:

1. Atmospheric Conditions: A combination of warm, moist air near the surface and cooler, drier air above. This setup creates instability in the atmosphere.
2. Wind Shear: Horizontal wind shear (change in wind speed and direction with height) is also crucial. When warm air at the surface begins to rise, it can tilt the rotating air from horizontal to vertical due to the wind shear.
3. Supercell Development: This vertical column of rotating air can become part of a larger storm system or supercell. Supercells are characterized by a persistent, rotating updraft called a mesocyclone.
4. Tornado Genesis: Under the right conditions, part of the mesocyclone can tighten and intensify, eventually extending towards the ground as a tornado.
5. Tornado Lifecycle: Tornadoes can last from a few minutes to over an hour before dissipating. The length of a tornado’s lifecycle can vary greatly depending on atmospheric conditions.

The exact combination of factors and the process can vary, and not all supercells produce tornadoes. However, the presence of a mesocyclone in a supercell is a key indicator that tornado formation is possible.

How and why do tornadoes stop?

Tornadoes stop primarily due to changes in the atmospheric conditions that sustain them. These are the key factors that lead to the end of a tornado’s destruction:

1. Loss of Instability: Tornadoes are fueled by unstable atmospheric conditions, where warm, moist air meets cooler, drier air. When this instability decreases, the energy available to sustain the tornado diminishes.
2. Parent Thunderstorm Weakens: Tornadoes are typically spawned from supercell thunderstorms. If the parent thunderstorm weakens or changes structure, the tornado may lose its primary source of energy and circulation.
3. Interaction with Terrain: When a tornado moves over rough terrain, such as hills, forests, or urban areas, the friction and disruption can weaken its rotation. This can lead to the tornado dissipating.
4. Inflow Interruption: Tornadoes rely on a steady inflow of warm, moist air. If this inflow is interrupted or redirected, the tornado can weaken. This can happen if the storm moves into an area with different atmospheric conditions or if the inflow is disrupted by other weather phenomena.
5. Occlusion Process: In some cases, the tornado may undergo an occlusion process, where the rear flank downdraft (a downdraft on the backside of the storm) wraps around the tornado, cutting off its warm air supply and causing it to weaken and dissipate.

Where do tornadoes occur around the world?

Tornadoes occur all around the globe, but some areas experience them much more than others.

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