Tornadoes can be scary but if you know tornado safety tips you can help protect yourself and your family during a tornado. Learn what you need to know ahead of time to stay safe.
I originally shared this on May 1st, 2024 after a tornado outbreak in Oklahoma. Today I’m updating the post to be more relevant to this year. And this update is coming after a tornado hit my town on March 4, 2025. It hit my neighborhood and while thankfully myself and my family are okay and only had minor damage, it was still a reminder of how important it is to be ready for storms.
I’m a lifelong Oklahoman and I’m no stranger to tornadoes. Oklahoma holds many of the records for tornadoes. 5 out of 6 of the highest wind speed tornadoes have been in Oklahoma, and I remember all but one.
Oklahoma averages 57 tornadoes a year and our record is 149. I originally wrote this on April 30, 2024, and we had already had at least 33 tornadoes this year, and 22 (or more, it’s still being investigated) of those were on April 27th. We ended up with a record number of tornadoes for the year.
After spending 3 hours taking cover during 4 different tornado warnings on April 27, 2024, I wanted to share what I’ve learned over the years when it comes to preparing for tornadoes.
Tornadoes may be most common in Oklahoma and Texas, but they can hit anywhere, and knowing what to do if they are in your area can save your life.
If you’d like to help the Oklahoma tornado victims, I have some information on my site, Green Oklahoma.
Tornado Safety Tips to Learn Now
Don’t wait until you are under a tornado watch or worse to read this. Read over this list now and make sure your whole family knows your tornado plan and is prepared.
Figure Out Your Safe Place
The safest place during a tornado is underground, but that’s not always possible. If you don’t have a basement or storm shelter, you want to get to the centermost part of your home. You want to put as many walls between you and outside as possible. If at all possible, make sure there are no windows. An inner closet or bathroom is best, but if not, at least in a hallway.
Make sure all family members know this location, and know if there is a tornado warning, drop everything and go to that spot as quickly as possible.
What to do if you are in a Mobile Home
If you are in a mobile home, you need to get out. I have family members who were badly injured because they were in a mobile home that was hit by a tornado, they are very lucky to be alive, but others in the mobile home park weren’t as lucky.
It’s best to have a shelter you can go to if you are in a mobile home, but this needs to happen before the tornado warning because you do not want to be on the road during a warning. Worst case check a weather app and find what way the tornado is moving, drive away from that area to a sturdy building, or get into a ditch.
NOAA has a great resource to help you prepare ahead of time if you live in a mobile or manufactured home. Read it or even print it out to review it often.
What to do if you are Driving During a Tornado
You need to make every effort possible to get into a sturdy building. If that is not possible, NEVER hide under an overpass, this caused a lot of deaths during a tornado in Oklahoma and is very dangerous. Instead, find a ditch and get down, covering your head. Make sure you are as far from your vehicle as possible.
This is the church just a few houses down from me after the March 4, 2025 tornado. Its roof was peeled off.
Put on Shoes and a Helmet, Bring Blankets
If there is damage after a tornado, you could be walking through areas with nails, glass, and other debris. It’s important to have shoes on to keep yourself safe. A helmet is also useful, especially if having to take shelter above ground or if you have to go outside to get to your shelter.
If taking cover above ground, having blankets, pillows, a mattress, or anything else you can put over yourself and your family is helpful. The goal is to put as much protection between you and the outside.
Have a Tornado Kit Ready
Especially if you live in an area prone to tornadoes, having a tornado kit ready to go is helpful. Things that are useful to have in your kit include:
- Family Emergency Binder
- Water
- Non-Perishable Food
- Battery-powered or hand crank radio
- Flashlight
- First aid kit
- Face masks (N95s are the best option)
- Cell phone backup batteries
- Medications
Ready.gov has a good list of general things to have on hand for emergencies, read over their list to get more ideas that could be helpful for you and your family.
Have a Plan for Your Pets
When you are making your plans, be sure you know what you will do with pets as well. Having them in a crate or on a leash is best. Also making sure they have a collar with an ID is helpful in case they get away from you.
I have even leash trained my cat, which is helpful when we have tornado warnings so he doesn’t have to stay in a crate the whole time. I do still have his carrier with us as well. For the March 4, 2025 tornado, I was able to get him into his harness in less than a minute because he is so used to it. We had very little warning so this was a huge help. I always keep his leash and harness next to me during tornado watches for this reason.
Don’t Leave Your Home!
I often see people trying to leave their homes to go to a public shelter after a tornado warning has been issued. On average, after sirens sound you have 10-15 minutes to take shelter. Being on the road is extremely dangerous. Tornadoes shift paths, there can be hazards before the tornado hits, it’s just a bad idea. If you want to use a public shelter plan to go there before the sirens sound.
(If you live in a mobile home or manufactured home please go back up to that section as this advice is different for you.)
This home is just two houses away from me and their garage door was blown into the garage.
Know How You Will Get Alerts
Every stormy weather day I see people in our local Facebook group asking where they can watch storm reports. Please do not do this! Know ahead of time where you can watch or listen to local weather.
There are great apps out there from local news stations and weather apps that are helpful. Try them out before severe weather hits to make sure you know how to use them and if they will work for you.
Don’t Count on Sirens!
Tornado sirens are called Outdoor Warning Sirens. The reason is they are meant to warn people if they are outside about tornadoes. They are not designed for you to hear inside your home.
Tornado sirens can also stop working during power outages or for other reasons. For a long time, the siren near us was not working. If we had counted on that, we would have missed a serious tornado warning.
Instead, you should have a weather radio or weather app with notifications on to warn you about tornadoes. I recommend always having two ways to get alerted in case one fails.
I want to also share that night tornadoes can mean even less warning. For the March 4, 2025 tornado, I was even watching weather and had very little warning. In just one radar scan, it went from we were fine to the tornado being almost on top of us. My phone went off, I grabbed my cat and put him in a harness and ran to our hallway as the tornado was hitting and the sirens went off. This is not usually the case but it can happen so it highlights why you need to be prepared.
Know the Severe Weather Terms
My friends and family call me their personal meteorologist because I enjoy learning about the weather and keeping tuned in during storms. However, everyone should know the basic weather terms to help you stay informed.
- Severe thunderstorm: A thunderstorm is declared to be severe when it’s capable of producing winds of at least 58 mph and/or hail at least 1 inch in diameter. They can also produce tornadoes and should be taken seriously.
- Severe thunderstorm watch: Conditions are favorable to the development of severe thunderstorms in and around the watch area. Generally, watches are issued an hour or two before when they expect storms to start, but they can happen sooner.
- Severe thunderstorm warning: A severe thunderstorm warning is issued when a spotter or radar indicates a severe thunderstorm is occurring or imminent.
- Tornado watch: This means conditions are favorable for the development of severe thunderstorms and multiple tornadoes in and around the watch area. You should be prepared to take action on days with a tornado watch.
- PDS tornado watch: PDS stands for particularly dangerous situations. They are not issued often. The National Weather Service defined a PDS watch as “rare situations when long-lived, strong and violent tornadoes are possible. This enhanced wording may also accompany severe thunderstorm watches for intense convective wind storms.”
- Tornado warning: A tornado warning means spotters or radar have indicated a tornado is occurring or imminent. You should take cover immediately.
- Tornado emergency: These are rarely issued but are extremely serious. This is only issued “when there is a severe threat to human life and catastrophic damage from an imminent or ongoing tornado,” the NWS says
Some other terms can be helpful to know while watching severe weather reports. WCNC has a great list that explains some of the most common weather terms.
Free Family Emergency Printables
One thing that is helpful to have on hand during severe weather season is a family emergency binder. It will contain your emergency plan, first aid information, insurance information, and other things that are helpful during an emergency. You can make your own by printing off these free printables.
Make sure to keep this binder in a safe spot and that your family knows where it is. Doing that and the other things in this article can help you and your family stay safe even during scary events like tornadoes.
Support NOAA to Help Keep Us Safe
A new issue that has come up in 2025 is that DOGE and the current admin have been trying to gut NOAA, which we count on for weather forecasts and warnings. Every app and news station you watch uses data from NOAA.
DOGE fired a lot of NOAA staff and tried to cancel leases for several critical NOAA centers. Public outcry caused them to reverse some of this, but not all, and there are concerns they will try again as it is a goal of the current admin to privatize weather forecasts, which would be a disaster and cost lives.
Take a moment this storm season to contact your senators and representative to make sure they know you want NOAA funded and staffed. You can use a script and information from 5calls.org to help you make these calls.
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