Whether practicing a tornado drill or sheltering during a warning, the Ohio Committee for Severe Weather Awareness encourages Ohioans to DUCK!
D- Go DOWN to the lowest level
U - Get UNDER something
C - COVER your head
K - KEEP in shelter until the storm has passed
• Take responsibility for your safety and be prepared before a watch or warning is issued. Meet with household members to develop a disaster plan to respond to tornado watches and warnings. Conduct regular tornado drills. When a tornado watch is issued, review your plan – don’t wait for the watch to become a warning. Learn how to turn off the water, gas and electricity at the main switches.
• Despite Doppler radar, tornadoes can sometimes occur without any warning, allowing very little time to act. It is important to know the basics of tornado safety. Know the difference between tornado watches and tornado warnings.
• Tune in to one of the following for weather information: NOAA Weather Radio, local/cable television (Ohio News Network or the Weather Channel), or local radio station.
• If you are a person with special needs, register your name and address with your local emergency management agency, police and fire departments before any natural or man-made disaster.
• NOAA Weather Radio has available an alerting tool for people who are deaf or have hearing impairments. Some weather radio receivers can be connected to an existing home security system, much the same as a doorbell, smoke detector or other sensor. For additional information, visit: www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/special_need.htm.
• The safest place to be during a tornado is a basement. If the building has no basement or cellar, go to a small room (a bathroom or closet) on the lowest level of the structure, away from windows and as close to the center of the building as possible.
• Be aware of emergency shelter plans in stores, offices and schools. If no specific shelter has been identified, move to the building’s lowest level. Try to avoid areas with large glass windows, large rooms and wide-span roofs such as auditoriums, cafeterias, large hallways or shopping malls.
• If you’re outside, in a car or mobile home, go immediately to the lowest level of a nearby sturdy building. Sturdy buildings are the safest structures to be in when tornadoes threaten. Winds from tornadoes can blow large objects, including cars and mobile homes, hundreds of feet away.
• If there is no building nearby, lie flat in a low spot. Use your arms and hands to protect your head.
It is not safe to seek shelter under highway overpasses and bridges.
Tornado Facts
As the severe weather season approaches, take some time during Severe Weather Safety Awareness Week to make a safety plan for your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers. Planning ahead will lower the chance of injury or death in the event severe weather strikes.
Tornadoes develop from severe thunderstorms. They are usually preceded by very heavy rain and/ or large hail. A thunderstorm accompanied by hail indicates that the storm has large amounts of energy and may be severe. In general, the larger the hailstones, the more potential there is for damaging winds and/or tornadoes.
The most violent tornadoes are capable of tremendous destruction with wind speeds of 250 mph or more. Damage paths have exceeded the width of one mile and 50 miles long. Tornadoes generally move from southwest to northeast, but have also been recorded traveling in any direction. The forward speed of a tornado varies from 30 mph to 70 mph.
Even though Ohio had tornadoes in November of 2002 and 2003, the peak tornado season for Ohio is generally April through July.
According to the National Weather Service, throughout 2005, there were only four tornadoes recorded in Ohio, resulting in no injuries or deaths.
National Weather Service (NWS) offices in Wilmington and Cleveland, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Charleston, West Virginia; and Syracuse, Indiana provide weather watches and warnings for Ohio.
Fujita Tornado Damage Scale - By Category
The Fujita tornado scale (F scale) was developed by the late Professor Theodore Fujita of the University of Chicago to classify tornadoes according to wind speed and damage.
F0: Light Damage (>73 mph). Some damage to chimneys; branches broken off trees; sign boards damaged.
F1: Moderate Damage (73-112 mph). Peels surface off roofs; mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned; moving autos blown from road.
F2: Considerable Damage (113-157 mph). Roofs torn off frame houses; mobile homes demolished; large trees snapped or uprooted; light-object missiles generated; cars lifted off ground.
F3: Severe Damage (158-206 mph). Roofs and walls torn from well constructed houses; most trees in forest uprooted; heavy vehicles lifted and thrown.
F4: Devastating Damage (207-260 mph). Well constructed homes leveled; vehicles thrown; large missiles generated.
F5: Incredible Damage (261-318 mph). Strong framed homes lifted from foundations and swept away; large objects easily projected more than 100 meters; trees debarked; incredible phenomena will occur. Source: www.noaa.gov/tornadoes.html
Tornado Statistics
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total
1940-49 2 0 5 5 10 6 2 5 3 0 0 0 38
1950-59 1 4 7 8 12 12 12 5 1 2 1 0 65
1960-69 0 1 5 37 26 20 16 12 4 1 8 0 130
1970-79 2 4 3 26 28 50 25 18 14 7 1 2 180
1980-89 1 0 17 19 32 50 16 7 1 2 2 0 147
1990-99 1 5 1 16 21 48 77 17 5 3 3 1 198
2000-04 0 0 0 6 21 6 5 6 2 2 19 0 67
2005 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 5
Totals 7 14 38 117 151 192 153 73 30 17 35 3 830
Note: The increase in tornadoes listed in the 1950s and 1960s is not necessarily indicative of an absolute increase in the number of tornadoes, but is more likely the result of better communication, an increase in population and more public awareness of severe weather.
Shelter from Thunder & Lightning Storms
Safe Shelter from Storms
A house or other substantial building offers the best protection from lightning. For a shelter to provide adequate protection from lightning, it must contain a mechanism for conducting the electrical current from the point of contact to the ground. These mechanisms may be on the outside of the structure, or contained within the walls of the structure, or a combination of the two.
On the outside, lightning can travel along the outer shell of the building or follow metal gutters and downspouts to the ground. Inside, lightning can follow conductors such as electrical wiring, plumbing and telephone lines to the ground.
Unsafe Sheltering
Unless specifically designed to be lightning safe, small structures do little, if anything to protect people from lightning. Many small, open shelters on golf courses, parks and athletic fields are designed to protect people from rain and sun, but not lightning. A shelter that does not contain plumbing or wiring throughout, or some other mechanism for grounding from the roof to the ground is not safe. Small wooden, vinyl or metal sheds offer little or no protection from lightning and should be avoided during thunderstorms.
Stay Safe While Inside
Corded telephone use is the leading cause of indoor lightning injuries in the United States. Lightning can travel long distances on phone and electrical wires, particularly in rural areas. If you must use a phone during a storm, a cellular phone is safest. Stay away from windows and doors, as these can provide the path for a direct strike. Basements are generally safe places to go during thunderstorms, but avoid contact with concrete walls that may contain metal reinforcing bars.
Also, avoid washers and dryers because they have contacts with plumbing and electrical systems and contain an electrical path to the outside through the dryer vent.
Protect Your Pets
Outside dog houses are not lightning-safe. Dogs that are chained to trees or wire runners can easily fall victim to lightning strikes. You may want to consider bringing your pets inside the home or garage during thunderstorms.
Protect Personal Property
Lightning generates electrical surges that can damage electronic equipment some distance from the actual strike. Typical surge protectors WILL NOT protect equipment from a lightning strike. Before a thunderstorm threatens, unplug any unnecessary appliances and electronic equipment from conductors.
