Right now
Get to the lowest floor. Now.
Basement, storm cellar, or the smallest interior room with no windows. Closet, bathroom, or interior hallway. Cover your head. Do not go near windows.
Where you are right now
Your shelter depends on your building
House with a basement
Get to the basement. Get under a sturdy table, workbench, or stairwell. Cover yourself with a mattress, sleeping bag, or heavy blankets. Know where heavy objects sit on the floor above you (piano, refrigerator, waterbed) and stay out from under them; they can fall through a weakened floor.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center
House without a basement or apartment
Go to the lowest floor. Find the smallest interior room with no windows: a bathroom, closet, or interior hallway. Crouch low and cover your head and neck with your arms. Pull a mattress or heavy blankets over you. A bicycle helmet or sports helmet provides real additional protection. If you have a moment, put on sturdy, thick-soled shoes. After a tornado the ground is covered in broken glass, nails, and debris, and foot injuries are among the most common. Having them on before you walk out matters. Do not waste time opening windows. It does nothing to protect the house, the wind and debris will break them anyway, and you only expose yourself to flying glass. Every second counts, so take cover.
Source: Ready.gov, NWS
Mobile home or manufactured home
Leave immediately. Mobile homes provide no meaningful protection from tornadoes, regardless of anchoring or how well they are built. An EF-1 tornado can completely destroy a manufactured home. You are 15 to 20 times more likely to die in a mobile home than in a permanent structure. Get to a nearby sturdy building, storm shelter, or community building. If a warning has already been issued, it may be too dangerous to drive; as a last resort, get low in a ditch or depression and cover your head.
Source: NOAA/NWS Mobile Home Safety, FEMA
Large building (school, hospital, office, store)
Go to interior hallways on the lowest floor. Stay away from gymnasiums, auditoriums, and large open rooms with wide roof spans. Stay away from exterior walls, windows, and glass doors.
Source: NWS Safety
In a vehicle
Do not try to outrun a tornado. If you can see a sturdy building nearby, stop and go inside. If no building is available and the tornado is visible, pull over, keep your seatbelt on, put your head below the windows, and cover it with your hands or a blanket. Do not shelter under an overpass; wind speeds increase in the confined space.
Source: NWS/Red Cross Joint Statement on Tornado Safety
Caught outdoors
Get to a sturdy building if you can reach one quickly. If you cannot, lie flat in the nearest ditch or low-lying area and cover your head with your arms. Do not shelter under trees, which can become projectiles. This is a last resort, not a plan.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center
After the tornado passes
The next 30 minutes
Wait for the all-clear
Do not leave shelter because it seems quiet. Multiple tornadoes can come from the same storm system. Wait for official confirmation from local emergency management or NWS.
Check for injuries
Check yourself, then family, then neighbors. Apply direct pressure to bleeding wounds. Do not move seriously injured people unless they face further immediate danger.
Watch for hazards
Downed power lines, gas leaks, broken glass, exposed nails, and unstable structures. Wear sturdy shoes and gloves before walking through debris. Do not touch downed power lines or anything in contact with them. If you smell gas, leave the area.
Document damage
Take photos of all damage before moving anything. This matters for insurance claims and any disaster assistance that follows. Keep receipts for emergency repairs.
Know the difference
Watch vs. warning
Tornado Watch
Conditions are favorable for tornadoes. Stay alert and be ready to move to shelter. If you live in a mobile home, this is when you leave for a sturdier building.
Tornado Warning
A tornado has been sighted or detected on radar. Take shelter immediately. You may have only minutes.
Source: NWS, Ready.gov
Sources: Ready.gov Tornadoes, NOAA Storm Prediction Center Tornado Safety, NWS Mobile/Manufactured Home Safety, NWS/Red Cross Joint Statement on Tornado Safety (2009), FEMA P-320 Taking Shelter from the Storm (2024), NWS Springfield Tornado Safety Tip Sheet. All safety claims verified against primary sources. Last reviewed August 30, 2026.
This guide is not professional emergency management advice. It is a plain-language starting point for someone under a tornado warning right now.