15 Severe Weather Safety Tips That Could Save Your Life

Some severe weather safety tips are well known, but other important things you may not have considered could save your life when flooding, high winds, thunderstorms or tornadoes threaten.

A​mong the most common safety tips are:

• When a tornado warning is issued, head to a basement, interior room on the lowest floor away from windows, or an alternate storm shelter if you live in a manufactured home.
• I​f lightning is nearby, head indoors and wait 30 minutes until you last noticed thunder or lightning to go back outside.

Here are some other lesser-known, but important suggestions to keep in mind. We're starting with flooding, since that has been the biggest storm-related killer over the past 30 years.

1. Never drive through a flooded road.

This is one of the worst decisions you can make in severe weather.

First, it may be difficult to tell how deep the water is. It only takes about 1 foot of water to float a car or small SUV. Once your vehicle floats, you've lost control. You're like a boat without a motor or paddles.

Second, the road under the floodwater may have been washed away. Sometimes, a culvert or bridge is overwhelmed by water or debris carried by the water, leaving an entire section of road wiped away.

I​n 2023, just over half of all flood-related deaths in the U.S. were in vehicles, according to NOAA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Take an extra few minutes to find an alternate route rather than risking your life. As the National Weather Service says, "Turn around. Don't drown."

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2. Flooding can happen from rain elsewhere.

You're probably familiar with river flooding days after heavy rain upstream along, say, the Mississippi, Missouri or Ohio rivers.

But dangerous, short-lived flash flooding also can arrive in an area where it hasn't rained. This can happen in higher terrain, particularly the mountain West in summer.

A thunderstorm over mountainous terrain can send fast-moving runoff careening down the slope. If you're hiking near a normally dry river bed or in a slot canyon, this fast-rushing water can be deadly. In May 2020, one such flash flood killed two hikers in a Utah slot canyon.

If you're hiking or camping near a river, be aware of the weather forecast. If rain or thunderstorms are expected, know how to get to higher ground immediately if a flash flood warning is issued.

3. There often is more than one round of severe weather in a given day.

We'd like to think that severe weather sweeps through, then the skies clear and we're done with it for a while. Quite often, though, it's not that simple.

It's common in the nation's mid-section for there to be a morning round of thunderstorms with heavy rain and strong winds, followed by a late-afternoon or evening round of thunderstorms with tornadoes, hail and damaging winds.

An extreme example of this was the April 2011 super outbreak, which consisted of three separate rounds of tornado-producing severe thunderstorms in the Southeast on April 27.

Until the National Weather Service clears your area from a severe thunderstorm, tornado or flash flood watch, don't assume you're in the clear after one round of severe thunderstorms passes through.

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4. Pay attention to watches and warnings near your county, too.

National Weather Service watches and warnings are issued for parts of counties. So, it's important to learn not only the county you live in, but also what part of the county you're in.

It's also good to learn your neighboring counties, particularly those to the south, southwest, west, or northwest of you.

I​n most cases, severe thunderstorms approach from those directions. So that can give you an additional heads up if you notice a warning has been issued for that neighboring county.

5. Radar can detect a tornado, even if nobody has seen one yet.

Many tornado warnings are issued based on a potential for a tornado to develop based on rotation detected within the thunderstorm. But over the last 10 to 15 years, it has become possible to confirm a tornado is actually happening by radar alone.

That's because Doppler radar can detect a signature of lofted trees and other debris known as a tornadic debris signature, or TDS. This is particularly valuable at night when there may be fewer weather spotters, and also in situations where the tornado may be hidden by rain.

S​o, if you receive a tornado warning saying, "radar has confirmed a tornado", that is as serious as "spotters have confirmed a tornado." In this case, we know a tornado is already producing damage.

6. You may not see a tornado, so just take shelter.

Your first instinct may be to look out your window or go outside when you receive a tornado warning. That's a bad idea for a couple of reasons.

F​irst, the possible tornado may be many miles away, but still moving in your general direction. So, you may not see anything looking outside when you receive the warning.

M​ore importantly, if the storm is closer, you may not recognize it as a tornado. Some tornadoes can be hidden by a giant curtain of heavy rain or your visibility may be blocked by trees or hills.

7. You may not have much time to seek shelter.

National Weather Service warnings are typically issued with sufficient lead time to allow you to safely move to shelter before the storm arrives.

But that's not always the case.

If a thunderstorm first develops strong rotation near your location, you won't have much time to head to shelter when that initial tornado warning is issued.

That also can happen if storms are moving fast. Individual supercells or lines of thunderstorms with widespread wind damage, known as derechos, can sometimes move with forward speeds of over 60 mph.

Seek shelter immediately when receiving a severe thunderstorm or tornado warning. Don't waste precious seconds or minutes looking out the window, as mentioned earlier. You may not have as much time as you think.

8. Tornado sirens aren't designed to be heard indoors.

Don't count on a siren to warn you inside your home, or wake you at night. Tornado sirens are meant to warn those outdoors to seek shelter. You may live too far away from the nearest siren to hear it.

It's better to have multiple ways of receiving National Weather Service watches and warnings, including NOAA Weather Radio and an alert from your smartphone.​

9. Instead, your smartphone can and should alert you.

M​ost smartphones today allow wireless emergency alerts (WEA) to be sent by authorized government agencies, including the National Weather Service. As long as your smartphone is enabled to receive them, they'll be accompanied by loud chirps that will then tell you what you should do.

Make sure your smartphone is fully charged and its do not disturb function is turned off at night when severe weather is forecast, so an alert can wake you.

Y​ou can also turn on additional alerts, such as for lightning strikes, within The Weather Channel app.

W​e have steps on how to make sure your phone receives these alerts here.

10. Tornadoes can occur in severe thunderstorm watches and warnings.

Just because the National Weather Service issues a severe thunderstorm watch or warning doesn't mean there isn't also a threat of tornadoes.

When a severe thunderstorm watch is issued, the NWS is most concerned about the threats of damaging thunderstorm winds or large hail, or both. Occasionally, however, they'll specify "a few tornadoes possible" in the severe thunderstorm watch, which cover situations where rotation in lines or clusters of storms could lead to brief tornadoes.

Similarly, the NWS may issue a severe thunderstorm warning for a thunderstorm that develops in an environment favorable for tornadoes, but doesn't yet exhibit strong rotation, inserting "a tornado is possible" into the warning.

In these situations, a tornado could develop with relatively little or no advanced warning.

11. Take shelter for severe thunderstorm warnings, too.

We've written about this before, but severe thunderstorm warnings deserve your attention just as much as tornado warnings.

Put simply, s​evere thunderstorms are much more common than tornadoes.

In 2023, there were over 24,000 reports of strong thunderstorm wind gusts, wind damage and large hail in the U.S., over 19 times the number of confirmed tornadoes (1,269), according to NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.

Just because severe thunderstorms are more common doesn't make these warnings less serious. Let's delve into why.

1​2. Falling trees are a real danger.

W​eather.com writer Jan Childs detailed the underreported danger from trees downed by high winds, including those from thunderstorms.

It doesn't take a tornado to send a tree crashing down onto your home or vehicle.

In 2022, high winds, including those from thunderstorms, killed 55 people and injured another 108 in the U.S. according to NOAA.

If you have large trees around your home, you may want to seek shelter on the lowest floor, preferably in the basement, if a severe thunderstorm warning or high wind warning is issued with the potential for damaging straight-line winds.

Before storms threaten, keep healthy trees trimmed and remove any trees, particularly dead ones, leaning toward your house. Avoid travel during high wind events or severe thunderstorm warnings, as well.

13. Hail can be dangerous, too.

H​ail isn't only the prime driver of damage from severe thunderstorms,​ but it can also put you in danger.

L​arge hailstones, particularly those driven by high winds in severe thunderstorms, can smash the windows of your vehicle, even your house.

A​nd if you're caught out in the open, these hailstones can hurt. In June 2023 up to 90 were injured when a hailstorm struck during an outdoor concert at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater near Denver.

A​gain, when you receive a warning from the National Weather Service, find shelter immediately. If at an outdoor event, know how to quickly get to any building, closed concourse, etc., in case storms approach.

14. Wear a helmet and shoes when taking shelter.

During the April 27, 2011 super outbreak, an eight-year old boy put on his baseball helmet before a tornado struck his home in the west Birmingham, Alabama, suburb of Pleasant Grove.

According to the story passed along by ABC 33/40 meteorologist James Spann, experts believe that helmet may have saved his life.

So, if time permits, put on a helmet when taking shelter from a tornado, whether it's a bike, baseball, football, motorcycle or work helmet. Anything that can protect your head from flying debris could make the difference.

Getting under a heavy table or covering yourself with a mattress or blanket can also provide some protection.

Finally, put on a good, sturdy pair of shoes or boots. If your home is damaged, there may be debris with sharp edges, broken glass and exposed nails on the ground that could be a danger. You may not be able to locate your shoes if the storm heavily damages your home.

15. Lightning can strike several miles away from a thunderstorm.

Lightning is a danger even if it isn't raining.

According to NOAA, lightning can strike ground more than 3 miles from the center of the thunderstorm.

"Bolts from the blue" - named because these lightning strikes appear to come from clear sky - can strike over 15 miles away from a thunderstorm. One such Florida bolt struck over 20 miles away.

The best way to stay out of danger from these distant lightning strikes is to be weather aware and use common sense.

If the sky is darkening and particularly if you hear thunder, you're in danger. Head indoors or into a vehicle immediately until the storm passes.

Some weather apps - such as The Weather Channel app - will send you a lightning alert if a strike occurs nearby.

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. His lifelong love of meteorology began with a close encounter with a tornado as a child in Wisconsin. He completed a Bachelor's degree in physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, then a Master's degree working with dual-polarization radar and lightning data at Colorado State University. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on X (formerly Twitter), Threads, Facebook and Bluesky.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives.