I know, I know--those tornado chasers on TV and in the movies make it look oh-so-fun to be running around in dangerous storms, getting close to tornadoes, dodging hail, daring lightning to hit them. I get it. And believe me, I used to be the kind of person who, upon hearing the tornado sirens, would go outside and say "Oooo, lemme see, lemme see!" But the reality is, unless you are a trained professional, you're probably going to get hurt or worse.
But today, as a grown-ass adult who needs to secure 3 animals and doesn't want the insurance nightmare of having my car torn up by hail, I see things a little differently. Also, based on a first-hand account from my dad, getting hit by lightning is an unpleasant experience. I'm very fortunate to live where the weather sirens come through loud and clear. But even that might give me precious little time to corral and crate my cat, while my 2 dogs are freaking out under my feet, and get us all to safety.
The time to plan for severe weather is BEFORE you have to. If, like me, you don't have a basement, figure out RIGHT NOW where the best place to hunker down would be. How will you secure small children and pets? What can you do to make your house as safe a shelter as possible? If your home isn't safe (for example, a trailer), where will you go? How will you get your family and pets there safely?
This link has a lot of comprehensive information about how to stay as safe as possible in severe weather. Most of the planning can be--and should be--done in advance. For example, my plan consists of several things that I do every day, even in sunny weather, just because you never know.
I live in what is now considered Tornado Alley, as the "official" area of interest has been expanding eastward. So when I say "severe weather," in my personal circumstances, this usually means a tornado or severe thunderstorm. My area also sees the occasional Snowmageddon, and we even recently got whipped by damaging winds and rain from Hurricane Helene, all the way up here (Hurricane Ike in 2008 knocked my power out for 3 days).
Fortunately, staying prepared isn't really that difficult. These are some of my tips which can be done well before bad weather moves in:
- I don't let my gas tank get too empty; it's hard to fill up your tank in the middle of a hurricane (trust me on this) if you need to evacuate.
- I keep my cell phone charged; it may be my only means of communication if I lose power/Internet.
- I signed up for weather alerts on my phone, plus I have a weather radio that very loudly alerts me to severe weather.
- Other ways to be alerted, especially if you don't live close enough to a siren to be woken up in the night: there are plenty of free apps for your cell phone that will alert you to severe weather; you can do a search on Google Play or the Apple app store. My personal favorite is a personal call from THE Max Velocity. Cost is about $15 USD/year.
- I keep stocked up on essentials needed in case I lose power: flashlights, candles, matches, lighters, energy bars and other non-perishable food, canned or bottled drinks, batteries for my radios, etc.
In addition, I have a plan for imminent severe weather; once I receive a notification of a severe thunderstorm warning or tornado watch:
- Bring cat carrier inside; make sure it is ready with the door open, for a quick stuff-grab-go.
- Clear out the pantry; this is where the cat will go.
- Make sure both dogs have collars on and leashes nearby.
- Let my family know that I'm facing possible severe weather.
- Keep my cell phone on my person at all times.
- Make sure all windows and doors are shut and locked.
Then, if the siren goes off (or if I personally deem the weather to be getting a bit too intense), I crate my cat and put him in the pantry, and leash the dogs and hunker down in a safe spot. So literally all I have to do at the last minute is secure the critters. Unless the funnel cloud is literally touching down on top of my house, I have time, because I did everything else ahead.