Severe Weather Safety Rules

Severe Weather possible Monday night into Tuesday morning.  Check out the Safety guidelines below.

Here are some definitions and guidelines to follow to help  keep you and your family safe: A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is issued when conditions are favorable  for the development of severe thunderstorms, people located in and around the watch area should keep an eye to the sky and listen  to their NOAA weather radio all hazards or tune to local broadcast  media for further weather information. The watch is intended to give  you time to prepare, time to review safety rules. A Severe Thunderstorm Warning is issued when a severe thunderstorm  has been detected by national weather service doppler radar or a reliable  report has been received. A warning is usually issued for portions of  one or two counties, for an hour or less. If the warning includes your  neighborhood or work place, you should take immediate action to protect  your life and the lives of others. Severe thunderstorms can produce  large hail and damaging winds. Tornadoes can and occasionally  do accompany severe thunderstorms. Treat this warning the same  as you would a tornado warning by taking the proper safety precautions. The best defense against thunderstorms is to stay inside a sturdy building  or shelter that can protect you from deadly lightning, large hail, damaging  winds, flooding rain and tornadoes. Fortunately, thunderstorms typically do  not last very long and will most often pass by your location in less than one  hour. Once in a shelter, stay away from windows and avoid electrical  equipment and plumbing. Remember to bring pets inside.  If there is time, secure loose objects outside as these objects often become  dangerous flying debris in high winds. Postpone outdoor activities until the storms have passed. If caught  outside, take shelter in a sturdy enclosed building or hard top automobile  immediately. Avoid open spaces, isolated objects, high ground and  metallic objects. Get out of boats and away from bodies of water.  Remember, if you can hear thunder, you are close enough to the  storm to be struck by lightning. If a tornado is spotted, act quickly and move to the lowest level basement of  your shelter, putting as many walls between yourself and the outside as  possible. Review your safety plan now and be prepared when severe weather threatens your area!