Severe Weather Safety Tips

Severe weather can strike without warning. When it does, it is essential to remember critical safety tips to ensure you and your family are free from harm. The National Weather Service offers these crucial safety tips for surviving severe weather. 

• Develop a safety plan: It is of utmost importance that you know where you will go in the event of inclement weather, and how long it will take you to get there. Your plan should allow you enough time.
• Postpone activities: If the forecast calls for thunderstorms, consider postponing activities to avoid any potentially dangerous situations.
• Monitor the weather: There are certain signs of a thunderstorm forming such as darkening skies, lightning flashes, and increasing winds. Looking out for these will keep you from being caught in a storm.
• Avoid open areas: In the event of lightning, lightning will tend to strike the tallest object in the area. This is why it is extremely important to stay away from isolated objects such as tall trees, towers, or utility poles.
• Stay away from metal conductors: While metal may not attract lightning, it can travel long distances through it. It is best to stay away from wires and fences.
• Get to a safe place: In the event of a thunderstorm, it is critical that you get to a safe place. The saying goes “When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors.” If you hear even the distant rumble of thunder, get to an enclosed building, one with wiring and plumbing if possible. If you cannot find an enclosed building, a hard-topped metal vehicle will do, just be sure to close all the windows. You should stay in this for at least 30 minutes past the last rumble of thunder.

          - Information courtesy of Security Today (http://security-today.com)