Local risks · Tornado
A tornado warning gives you about 13 minutes. The shelter you've already chosen, the radio you've already programmed, and the route you've already walked are what turn 13 minutes into enough time.
What to expect
The United States averages around 1,200 tornadoes a year. The risk is heaviest in two overlapping regions, and the season is longer than most people realize.
The historic Tornado Alley runs through the Plains: Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, the eastern Dakotas. Dixie Alley covers the Mid-South: Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas. Recent decades have shifted activity east into the Ohio Valley.
Plains peak: April through June, mostly afternoon and evening. Dixie Alley peak: March through May, often overnight. Nighttime tornadoes are roughly twice as deadly because warnings reach sleeping people late.
The National Weather Service issues two alerts. A watch means conditions favor tornadoes across a wide area for several hours. A warning means one is happening now in your specific area. Average warning lead time runs about 13 minutes.
Watch versus warning, in one line. A watch tells you to be ready. A warning tells you to be in shelter.
Beyond the basics
Your 72-hour kit handles food, water, and light. Tornadoes add a small set of specifics on top: an alert system that wakes you at 2am, a shelter location you've already chosen, and gear positioned within reach during peak season.
01
Battery-backed, programmed with SAME codes for your county. This is the only alert that wakes you at night when power and cell service are down. Midland WR400 or equivalent, $50 to $80.
02
The hierarchy: basement first, then an interior room on the lowest floor with no windows, then a bathtub with a mattress or cushions pulled over. Walk to it from where you sleep. Time it. Clear what's in the way.
03
Mobile homes do not survive direct tornado hits, even with tie-downs. Identify a sturdy building within five minutes of driving: a neighbor's basement, a community storm shelter, a sturdy public building. Leave during a watch, not a warning.
04
Head trauma from flying debris is the most common cause of tornado fatality. A bike or batting helmet for every household member, kept at the shelter location. Sturdy closed-toe shoes too. Broken glass and nails cover the ground afterward.
05
WEA alerts come through any modern phone with cell service. Check your phone's emergency settings and confirm tornado warnings are enabled. Outdoor sirens are not your indoor alert system. They were designed for people working outside.
06
If you're driving when a warning is issued: get to a real building. If no building is reachable, find a low ditch away from trees and cars, lie flat, cover your head. Never an overpass. The geometry accelerates wind speeds.
What to do
Four phases, in order. Most preparation pays off in the first two. The third is short. The fourth is the part most people get wrong because the myths are well-traveled.
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 4
After the storm
Most tornado injuries and deaths in the recovery window come from preventable contact: downed power lines, unstable structures, gas leaks, broken glass. The first three days are about slowing down and checking before doing.
0–1h
Account for every household member. Treat injuries you can handle. Smell for gas. If you smell it, leave the building, don't switch lights or use a phone inside, and call the utility from outside.
Photograph damage before you move anything. Insurance carriers want to see the original state.
24h
Treat every downed line as live. Keep a 35-foot perimeter and call 911 if a line blocks a road or driveway. Don't move debris that might be touching a line.
Don't enter a damaged building until an inspector or the utility clears it. Drink stored water only until your municipal supply is confirmed safe.
72h
Document the loss in detail. Photos, receipts, lists of contents. Call your insurance carrier with the policy number on hand.
Check on neighbors, especially elderly ones. Watch for delayed reactions in children. Bedtime fear and sleep disruption are normal for weeks after.
Authoritative sources
Bookmark these before tornado season starts. Each is a primary source the National Weather Service, FEMA, or the Red Cross publishes directly.
Forecasts, watches, warnings, and your local NWS forecast office. Enter your ZIP at weather.gov to find yours and bookmark the page.
weather.gov →
NOAA's daily convective outlooks. A Slight, Enhanced, or Moderate risk in your area is the cue to reconfirm your shelter plan that morning.
spc.noaa.gov →
FEMA's directory of state and territorial emergency management agencies. Your state agency operates local sirens, alerts, and community shelter programs.
fema.gov/locations →
Recovery resources, regional shelter information, and the free Red Cross Emergency app for warnings, location-based alerts, and family messaging.
redcross.org →
Before the next watch
By the time a watch becomes a warning, the kit needs to already be in place. Most of the work for a tornado is the same work for any sudden disruption: water, food, light, comms, documents.
Build the 72-hour kit