Severe weather can occur no matter where you are, day or night. Being prepared for severe weather is a must. In the event of a weather emergency, do you know what to do?

Having a plan and practicing that plan may save your life. When severe weather approaches, seek shelter at once. Make sure you check safety tools like flashlights and have fresh batteries in them.

Candles are not recommended as a source of light during power outages. Here are some tips and ideas to assist you in planning for severe weather incidents.

Lightning Safety Tips

Tornado Safety Tips

Flash Flood Safety Tips

Winter Safety Tips

LIGHTNING SAFETY TIPS

Lightning causes an average of 80 fatalities and 300 injuries each year. Lightning occurs with all thunderstorms. The National Weather Service considers a thunderstorm severe if it produces hail at least 3/4-inch in diameter, winds of 58 mph or more, or a tornado.

Postpone outdoor activities if thunderstorms are imminent. This is your best way to avoid being caught in a dangerous situation. Move to a sturdy building or car. Do not take shelter in small sheds, under isolated trees, or in convertible automobiles. Stay away from tall objects such as towers, fences, telephone poles, and power lines.

If lightning is occurring and a sturdy shelter is not available, get inside a hard top automobile and keep the windows up. Avoid touching any metal. Utility lines and metal pipes can conduct electricity. Unplug appliances not necessary for obtaining weather information. Avoid using the telephone or any electrical appliances. Use phones ONLY in an emergency. Do not take a bath or shower during a thunderstorm. Turn off air conditioners. Power surges from lightning can cause serious damage.

Find a low spot away from trees, fences, and poles. Make sure the place you pick is not subject to flooding. If you are in the woods, take shelter under the shorter trees. If you feel your skin tingle or your hair stand on end, squat low to the ground on the balls of your feet. Place your hands over your ears and your head between your knees. Make yourself the smallest target possible and minimize your contact with the ground. DO NOT lie down. If you are boating or swimming, get to land and find shelter immediately!

TORNADO SAFETY TIPS

Each year about a thousand tornadoes touch down in the US. Only small percentages actually strike occupied buildings, but every year a number of people are killed or injured. The chances that a tornado will strike a building that you are in are very small, however, and you can greatly reduce the chance of injury by doing a few simple things.

One of the most important things you can do to prevent being injured in a tornado is to be alert to the onset of severe weather. Most deaths and injuries happen to people who are unaware and uninformed. Young children or the mentally challenged may not recognize a dangerous situation. The ill, elderly, or invalid may not be able to reach shelter in time. Those who ignore the weather because of indifference or overconfidence may not perceive the danger. Stay aware, and you will stay alive!

Be alert to what is happening outside as well. There are some of the things that people have described when they tell about a tornado experiences. The sky may take on a sickly greenish or greenish black color. A strange quiet may occur within or shortly after a thunderstorm. Clouds moving by very fast, especially in a rotating pattern or converging toward one area of the sky are a significant indicator. The sound of a tornado has been likened to that of both railroad trains and jets. Other signs are an obvious "funnel-shaped" cloud that is rotating, or debris such as branches or leaves being pulled upwards, even if no funnel cloud is visible.

Determine safe places to seek shelter, such as a basement/storm cellar, or an interior room on the lowest floor ahead of time. Make sure everyone in the family knows were to go. Remember to have emergency supplies on hand, such as extra food, blankets, flashlights, batteries, and a battery-operated radio. If there is a watch or warning posted, then the fall of hail should be considered as a real danger sign. Hail can be common in some areas, however, and usually has no tornadic activity along with it.