Tornado Safety Tips Ahead Of Virginia's Storm Season

WASHINGTON, DC — Severe thunderstorms swept across Washington, DC, and northern Virginia on Thursday, with a brief tornado warning for a couple of counties before the weather settled down. Emergency officials say it's a good time to make sure your family has a plan to find shelter before the next outbreak of damaging storms or tornadoes take aim at the area; be sure flashlights have fresh batteries, cell phones are charged and vehicles have plenty of gas.

Here's some weather facts to know:

A thunderstorm is considered severe when it exhibits one or more of the following:

• Large hail (hailstones that are one inch diameter or greater, so hail the size of a quarter or larger fits this criterion).
• Wind gusts of 58 mph or greater.
• A tornado.

Tornado Watch
A Tornado Watch means that conditions are favorable for tornado development. People located in and around the watch area should keep an eye toward the sky and listen to their NOAA weather radio or tune to local broadcast media for further weather information. The watch is intended to give you time to prepare and review your safety rules.

During a severe thunderstorm watch, it is important to think about where you will be during the lifetime of the watch. If you are outdoors, develop a Weather Ready plan that includes directions to the nearest lightning and hail-proof shelter. Keep in mind that severe hail has the ability to smash car windshields, cause injuries and, in the extreme, punch holes in roofs.

Tornado Warning
A Tornado Warning means that a tornado has been detected by the National Weather Service Doppler radar or a reliable report of a tornado has been reported from the field. A tornado warning is usually issued for portions of one or two counties for an hour or less. The storm could also produce large hail and destructive straight line winds. If the tornado warning includes your neighborhood or work place, you should seek safe shelter immediately.

Severe Weather Preparedness

Here are some tornado safety rules to keep your family safe:

• Get as low as you can. A basement below ground level or the lowest floor of a building offers the greatest safety. Put as many walls between yourself and the outside as possible. Avoid windows at all costs.
• Do not waste time opening or closing windows and doors. It will not protect the structure. Use that time to find a safe place.
• Go to the basement or a small interior room such as a closet, bathroom or an interior hall on the lowest level. Close all doors to the hallway for greater protection. Get under something sturdy like a heavy table. Protect yourself from flying debris with pillows, heavy coats, blankets, or quilts. Use bicycle or motorcycle helmets to protect your head.
• If you are inside a mobile home, leave well before severe weather reaches your area and go to a strong building. If there is no shelter nearby, get into the nearest ditch, low spot or underground culvert. Lie flat, covering your head with your hands for protection.
• If you are in a vehicle or outdoors when tornadoes are possible, stay close to a sturdy shelter. If caught outside, find shelter in a ditch or remain in your vehicle and cover your head for protection. Do not take shelter under a highway overpass, where wind speeds can increase due to a tunneling effect.

Before the Storm...
Review your Severe Weather Safety Plan.

• What actions will you take when a watch is issued? What about a warning?
• Remember damaging straight line winds can cause as much damage as a weak tornado.
• Do you know where your weather shelter/safe room is located?

Check Severe Weather Alerting and Notifications.

• Do you have multiple ways of receiving severe weather information? Will one of those ways wake you if asleep?
• Is your NOAA Weather Radio programmed correctly with fresh batteries?
• Monitor NOAA Weather Radio and weather.gov as well as local media outlets for the latest forecast information for your area.

Dominion Power:

• Report a power outage and check the status on an outage.
• Or call 866-366-4357.
• Northern Virginia outage map.
• Outage safety and preparations.
• Outage FAQ.

NOVEC:

• Report power outages.
• Or call 703-335-0500, 888-335-0500.
• Northern Virginia outage map.

Electrical Safety Reminders

• Never touch any downed wire or low hanging wires. Telephone or cable TV wires that touch a power line can be deadly. Click here to report the location of any downed or low hanging line to BG&E or PEPCO. You can also contact local authorities or 911.
• Never try to make your own electrical repairs to electric utility equipment. Let their crews do dangerous work.
• Never pull tree limbs off power lines yourself.
• Never go into areas with debris or downed trees. Dangerous power lines may be buried in wreckage.
• Never go near chain link fences. Dangerous lines may touch the metal.
• Never step in puddles. They may be electrified.
• Never connect portable generators to your household electrical wiring. Connect only essential appliances - freezers and refrigerators - directly to a generator.
• Never walk into areas where crews are at work. If you're driving near work crews, obey road signs and proceed cautiously.

»File photo courtesy of NOAA