Your Monday Maintenance Tip: Driving and Tornadoes

When you prepare for tornado season ahead of time, you can increase your chances of protecting yourself and your property in the face of a tornado or heavy windstorm. If you’re in a tornado’s path, you don’t have much time to find shelter.

Tornado Driving Safety Tips:

• Try not drive during tornado conditions. Drive only if the tornado is far away and the traffic you will be driving in is light.
• Never try to out-drive a tornado in a vehicle. Tornadoes can change direction quickly and can lift a car or truck and toss it through the air.
• If you can see the tornado, and it is heading away from you… just sit tight. If it is heading toward you, and you have the time, drive away from it at right angles. Example, if it is heading north, travel east or west. If it is too close, find safety below ground if possible, or in the nearest depression. Do not stay in your car, as it will be tossed around with you in it.
• Do not, under any circumstance, drive over a downed electrical line.
• Get out of your vehicle immediately and seek shelter in a nearby building.
• Be prepared with a disaster kit in the car at all times. Take it, if possible, when you leave your car.
• If there is no time to get indoors, or if there is no nearby shelter, get out of the car and lie in a ditch or a low-lying area away from the vehicle. Be aware of the potential for flooding.
• Heavy rains often accompany tornadoes. Do not travel down a road submerged in water — underlying currents could carry your car away. Another likely threat: a collapsed roadway. If your vehicle stalls in water, immediately abandon it — floodwaters can rise several feet in a matter of minutes.

You should know these about tornadoes:

• They may strike quickly, with little or no warning.
• They may appear nearly transparent until dust and debris are picked up or a cloud forms in the funnel.
• The average tornado moves Southwest to Northeast, but tornadoes have been known to move in any direction.
• The average forward speed of a tornado is 30 MPH, but may vary from stationary to 70 MPH.
• Peak tornado season in the southern states is March through May; in the northern states, it is late spring through early summer.
• Tornadoes are most likely to occur between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m., but can occur at any time.

Other Tornado Safety Tips:

Be alert to changing weather conditions.

• Listen to NOAA Weather Radio or to commercial radio or television newscasts for the latest information.Look for approaching storms
• Look for the following danger signs:
  • Dark, often greenish sky
  • Large hail
  • A large, dark, low-lying cloud (particularly if rotating)
  • Loud roar, similar to a freight train.

If you see approaching storms or any of the danger signs, be prepared to take shelter immediately.

 

Courtesy of Car-Use.net