This One Thing Could Save Your Life In A Tornado
Some tornado safety tips are known by many,but there are other important things you may not have thought about that could also help keep you safe when severe weather strikes.
Among the most well-known tips are:
- When a tornado warning is issued,head to a basement,interior room on the lowest floor away from windows,or an alternate storm shelter if you live in a manufactured home.
- If lightning is nearby,head indoors and wait 30 minutes until you last notice thunder or lightning to go back outside.
Here's a list of other tips and facts you can use the next time severe weather threatens your area.
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1. Pay attention to watches and warnings near your county,too.
National Weather Service watches and warnings are issued for parts of counties. So,it's important to learn not only the county you live in but also what part of the county you're in.
It's also good to learn about your neighboring counties,particularly those to the south,southwest,west,or northwest of you.
In most cases,severe thunderstorms approach from those directions. So that can give you an additional heads up if you notice a warning has been issued for that neighboring county.
2. Tornado sirens aren't designed to be heard indoors.
Don't count on a siren to warn you inside your home,or wake you at night. Tornado sirens are meant to warn those outdoors to seek shelter. You may live too far away from the nearest siren to hear it.
Also,sirens aren't controlled by the National Weather Service,but rather activated by local emergency managers,police,fire or other agencies. So,there may be a small lag time between when the NWS issues a warning and when sirens are sounded.
3. Instead,your smartphone can and should alert you.
It's better to have multiple ways of receiving National Weather Service watches and warnings,including NOAA Weather Radio and an alert from your smartphone.
Most smartphones today allow wireless emergency alerts (WEA) to be sent by authorized government agencies,including the National Weather Service. As long as your smartphone is enabled to receive them,they'll be accompanied by loud chirps that will then tell you what you should do.
Make sure your smartphone is fully charged and its do not disturb function is turned off at night when severe weather is forecast,so an alert can wake you.
You can also turn on additional alerts,such as for lightning strikes,within Weather Now 24 app.
We have steps on how to make sure your phone receives these alerts here.
4. You may not have much time to seek shelter.
National Weather Service warnings are typically issued with sufficient lead time to allow you to safely move to shelter before the storm arrives.
But that's not always the case.
If a thunderstorm first develops strong rotation near your location,you won't have much time to head to shelter when that initial tornado warning is issued.
That also can happen if storms are moving fast. Individual supercells or lines of thunderstorms with widespread wind damage,known as derechos,can sometimes move with forward speeds of over 60 mph.
Seek shelter immediately when receiving a severe thunderstorm or tornado warning. Don't waste precious seconds or minutes looking out the window for any signs of ominous weather. You may not have as much time as you think.
(MORE:How Fast Do Tornadoes Move?)
5. You may not see a tornado. Take shelter anyway.
Again,your first instinct may be to look out your window or go outside when you receive a tornado warning. That's a bad idea for a couple of reasons.
First,the possible tornado may be many miles away,but still moving in your general direction. So,you may not see anything particularly dangerous looking outside when you receive the warning.
More importantly,if the storm is closer,you may not recognize it as a tornado. Some tornadoes can be hidden by a giant curtain of heavy rain or your visibility may be blocked by trees or hills. In these cases,it may not "look like a tornado"is there,as was the case in central Florida in March 2025.
6. Take shelter for severe thunderstorm warnings,too.
We've written about this before,but severe thunderstorm warnings deserve your attention just as much as tornado warnings.
They are much more common than tornadoes.
In 2024,there were over 22,000 reports of strong thunderstorm wind gusts,wind damage and large hail in the U.S.,over 12 times the number of confirmed tornadoes,according to NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.
Just because severe thunderstorms are more common doesn't make these warnings less serious.
7. Tornadoes can occur in severe thunderstorm watches and warnings.
Just because the National Weather Service issues a severe thunderstorm watch or warning doesn't mean there isn't also a threat of tornadoes.
When a severe thunderstorm watch is issued,the NWS is most concerned about the threats of damaging thunderstorm winds or large hail,or both. Occasionally,however,they'll specify "a few tornadoes possible"in the severe thunderstorm watch,which cover situations where rotation in lines or clusters of storms could lead to brief tornadoes.
Similarly,the NWS may issue a severe thunderstorm warning for a thunderstorm that develops in an environment favorable for tornadoes,but doesn't yet exhibit strong rotation,inserting "a tornado is possible"comment into the warning.
In these situations,a tornado could develop with relatively little or no advanced warning.
8. Falling trees are a real danger.
Weathernow24.com writer Jan Childs detailed the underreported danger from trees downed by high winds,including those from thunderstorms.
It doesn't take a tornado to send a tree crashing down onto your home or vehicle.
In 2023,thunderstorm winds killed 36 people and injured another 164 in the U.S.,according to NOAA.
If you have large trees around your home,seek shelter on the lowest floor,preferably in the basement,if a severe thunderstorm warning or high wind warning is issued with the potential for damaging winds.
Before storms threaten,keep healthy trees trimmed and remove any trees,particularly dead ones,leaning toward your house. Avoid travel during high wind events or severe thunderstorm warnings,as well.
9. A mobile or manufactured home is not a safe shelter.
It's good to figure out where your safest place of shelter is before severe weather threatens.
While you may think that's where you live or work,that's not always the case.
On March 4,2025,an EF2 tornado in Wayne County,Mississippi,injured four people. Two of those were thrown from their single-wide manufactured home tossed up to 100 yards and obliterated by the twister. The other two injuries occurred in another manufactured home that was "rolled",according to the NWS damage survey.
Of 83 tornado deaths in 2023,49 occurred in a manufactured home,according to NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.
Mobile and manufactured homes are among the worst options for safe shelter from a tornado or damaging winds. In this case,move quickly when a warning is issued to either a safe community storm shelter or some other substantial building.
10. Wear a helmet and shoes when taking shelter.
During the April 27,2011 super outbreak,an eight-year-old boy put on his baseball helmet before a tornado struck his home in the west Birmingham,Alabama,suburb of Pleasant Grove.
According to the story passed along by ABC 33/40 meteorologist James Spann,experts believe that the helmet may have saved his life.
So,if time permits,put on a helmet when taking shelter from a tornado,whether it's a bike,baseball,football,motorcycle or work helmet. Anything that can protect your head from flying debris could make a difference.
Getting under a heavy table or covering yourself with a mattress or blanket can also provide some protection.
Finally,put on a good,sturdy pair of shoes or boots. If your home is damaged,there may be debris with sharp edges,broken glass and exposed nails on the ground that could be a danger. You may not be able to locate your shoes if the storm heavily damages your home.
11. Radar can detect a tornado,even if nobody has seen one yet.
Many tornado warnings are issued based on the potential for a tornado to develop based on rotation detected within the thunderstorm. But over the last 10 to 15 years,it has become possible to confirm a tornado is happening by radar alone.
That's because Doppler radar can detect a signature of lofted trees and other debris known as a tornadic debris signature,or TDS. This is particularly valuable at night when there may be fewer weather spotters,and also in situations where the tornado may be hidden by rain.
So,if you receive a tornado warning saying,"radar has confirmed a tornado",that is as serious as "spotters have confirmed a tornado."In this case,we know a tornado is already producing damage.
12. There often is more than one round of severe weather in a given day.
We'd like to think that severe weather sweeps through,then skies clear and we're done with it for a while. Quite often,though,it's not that simple.
It's common in the nation's mid-section for there to be a morning round of thunderstorms with heavy rain and strong winds,followed by a late-afternoon or evening round of thunderstorms with tornadoes,hail and damaging winds.
An extreme example of this was the April 2011 super outbreak,which consisted of three separate rounds of tornado-producing severe thunderstorms in the Southeast on April 27.
Until the National Weather Service clears your area from a severe thunderstorm,tornado or flash flood watch,don't assume you're in the clear after one round of severe thunderstorms passes through.
(For even more granular weather data tracking in your area,view your 15-minute details forecast in our Premium Pro experience.)
13. Hail can be dangerous,too.
Hail isn't only the prime driver of damage from severe thunderstorms,but it can also put you in danger.
Large hailstones,particularly those driven by high winds in severe thunderstorms,can smash the windows of your vehicle,even your house.
And if you're caught out in the open,these hailstones can hurt. In June 2023 up to 90 were injured when a hailstorm struck during an outdoor concert at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater west of Denver.
Again,when you receive a warning from the National Weather Service,find shelter immediately. If at an outdoor event,know how to quickly get to any building,closed concourse,etc.,in case storms approach.
14. Lightning can strike several miles away from a thunderstorm.
Lightning is a danger even if it isn't raining.
"Bolts from the blue"- named because these lightning strikes appear to come from a clear sky - can strike over 15 miles away from a thunderstorm. One such Florida bolt struck over 20 miles away.
The best way to stay out of danger from these distant lightning strikes is to be weather aware and use common sense.
If the sky is darkening and particularly if you hear thunder,you're in danger. Head indoors or into a vehicle immediately until the storm passes.
Some weather apps - such as Weather Now 24 app - will send you a lightning alert if a strike occurs nearby.
Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at www.weathernow24.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. His lifelong love of meteorology began with a close encounter with a tornado as a child in Wisconsin. He completed a Bachelor's degree in physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison,then a Master's degree working with dual-polarization radar and lightning data at Colorado State University. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on X (formerly Twitter),Threads,Facebook and Bluesky.
