Planning For Tornadoes

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Tornadoes are a near certainty in the Great Plains in the next five days. So, given our mobile society, I would like to provide some tornado safety rules to newcomers and as a reminder to long-time residents. I recommend you pass this along to your friends and relatives who might find it useful. 

If a tornado warning is issued for your area, the basic philosophy is to put get to the lowest level of your building and put as many walls as possible between you and the outdoors. If you do not have a basement, go to a small room in the middle of your home on the lowest level. The best option is a bath due to the plumbing providing reinforcement to the walls. Here is a helpful video. 

If your shelter is in an area you rarely use, take the time today to clear out the cobwebs. Put new batteries in your weather radio. Upload the AccuWeather app.

Regardless of what app you are using when the warning is issued (e.g., reading the Huffington Post or playing Scrabble), the storm warning will pop up on your screen and your phone will make the "message arriving" sound. The warning will display only if you are in the threatened area, so the false alarms are very few. As good as the app is, I still recommend always having at least two independent sources to receive the warnings.

As we evaluate the weather the first of the week, I'll provide additional information.

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