Get Ready for Severe Weather Awareness Week

Do you know the difference between a tornado watch and a warning?

The provided the following information as part of Severe Weather Awareness Week:

• A Tornado Watch is issued by the National Weather Service when conditions are favorable for the development of tornadoes. Watches can last four to eight hours. During a tornado watch, you should review tornado safety rules and be prepared to move to a place of  safety Listen to a NOAA Weather Radio or local news for up-to-date weather information.
• A Tornado Warning is issued when a tornado has been detected by Doppler radar or sighted by storm spotters. If a tornado warning is issued for your area, seek shelter immediately! 

Twinsburg activates its weather warning system when a tornado warning is issued, but does not put out an all clear signal. If the siren goes off again, it is for another alert.  The system is tested on the first Saturday of each month at noon and will be part of the Statewide Tornado Drill on Wednesday, March 28, at 9:50 a.m.

What to do:

• The safest place to be during a tornado is a basement. If the building has no basement or cellar, go to a small room (a bathroom or closet) on the lowest level of the structure, away from windows and as close to the center of the building as possible.
• Be aware of emergency shelter plans in stores, offices and schools. If no specific shelter has been identified, move to the building's lowest level. Try to avoid areas with large glass windows, large rooms and wide-span roofs such as auditoriums, cafeterias, large hallways or shopping malls.
• If you're outside or in mobile home, find shelter immediately by going to the lowest level of a nearby sturdy building. Sturdy buildings are the safest structures to be in when tornadoes threaten. Winds from tornadoes can blow large objects, including cars and mobile homes, hundreds of feet away.
• If you cannot quickly get to a shelter, get into your vehicle, buckle your seat belt and try to drive to the nearest sturdy shelter.
• If you experience flying debris while driving, pull over and park. Choose to either stay in your vehicle, stay buckled up, duck down below the windows and cover your head with your hands, or find a depression or ditch, exit your vehicle and use your arms and hands to protect your head. Never seek shelter under highway overpasses and bridges.

For More Information:

• http://www.weathersafety.ohio.gov/TornadoFacts.aspx