March is here, so that means spring is coming, and so is severe weather season. Danville Fire Chief Don McMasters recently joined 1490 WDAN’s News Makers program, and reminded us of some very important points. First of all, if you are at home and believe a tornado is coming your way, do not get into your car and try to outrun it. There’s no way you can predict what the storm will do.
AUDIO: You may get a warning that says “we have a tornado heading towards Danville; it’s currently in St. Joe or Homer.” And you think, “well that’s 15 miles from here, I’ve got time to jump in my car and head north or south knowing it’s heading east towards me to get away from it.” Well, the problem is; one, just because it’s currently heading east does not mean it’s going to continue to head east. And number two, as soon as you get in your car and get three blocks down the road, another funnel cloud that wasn’t on the radar five minutes ago may pop up and it may pop up where you’re driving.
So take cover in your basement if you have one. And as Chief McMasters reminds us, if you know which way the storm is coming from, it’s good to go to that corner of the basement. But most importantly, go to a solid exterior wall, and preferably a corner wall.
AUDIO: If it is coming from the west heading this way, should you (perhaps) be in the southwest or west corner so that it’s going over, it’s getting past you; anything that would be falling in would be falling in towards the middle of the room away from you. But regardless of that, again, basement walls are obviously fairly well strength wise. And the best place for any wall, be it a basement wall or otherwise, is in a corner where two walls come together. That’s makes it the most stable point.
If you don’t have a basement, try to go to an interior room or closet. If you are at work, know your company’s plan. If you are at a business, listen to who is in charge and follow their plan. Meanwhile, if you are experiencing severe lightning right near you, it’s good to take cover in the same way, but away from anything electrical.
AUDIO: Don’t go to the room that has your furnace in it; your water heater in it. Because, again, if lightning would happen to strike your house, it’s going to come down through that. If you’re leaning against it, that’s obviously not a good thing. So you want to go to a centrally located place if ideal, away from your large appliances. Stay out of your kitchen where your refrigerator, your microwave, those sort of things are.
And as always, remember that a “tornado watch” means that conditions are favorable for a tornado to develop, and a “tornado warning” means that an active tornado or funnel cloud has already been spotted.
