Tornado Safety at Home and School

Before the storm at home, work, or play:

• Develop a plan for you and your family for home, work, school, and when outdoors.
• Practice safety drills frequently.
• Know the name of the county/parish in which you live. Keep a map nearby to follow the movement of storms announced on weather bulletins.
• Have a NOAA Weather Radio with a warning alarm tone and battery backup to receive warnings.
• Listen to radio or television for the latest information.
• If away from your home, listen to forecasts and take precautions if threatening weather is possible.

Prepare a plan in advance at school:

• School administrators and teachers should prepare a plan for all situations, including arrival, lunch, recess, departure times, and field trips.
• Tornado shelters should be designed by a registered engineer or architect. Special provisions should be made for disabled students and those in portable or temporary classroom facilities.
• Have available a NOAA Weather Radio (with a warning alarm tone) for weather information and a megaphone or compressed air horn in case the intercom fails.
• If threatening weather is anticipated, keep children at school beyond regular hours. Cancel lunches or large assemblies.

If a warning is issued or severe weather approaches when you're at home, work, or play:

• In a home or building, move to a designated shelter, such as a basement or storm cellar.
• If an underground shelter is not available, move to a small, interior room or hallway on the lowest floor. Get under a sturdy piece of furniture.
• DO NOT seek shelter in buildings with large expanse roofs, such as malls, auditoriums, gymnasiums, or cafeterias.
• Stay away from windows.
• Get out of automobiles and mobile homes.
• If no shelter is available, lie flat in a nearby ditch or depression away from power lines and streambeds.
• DO NOT seek shelter under highway bridges or overpasses.

If a warning is issued or severe weather approaches when you're at school:

• Follow your teacher's instructions.
• Walk in an orderly fashion to a designated shelter or an enclosed hallway (away from windows). Avoid auditoriums, gymnasiums and any cafeteria with large unreinforced walls.
• Crouch down near the wall and cover your head.
• Wait for the "all clear" signal from the school before returning to the classroom.
• If outdoors or on a bus, immediately return to the building, to an interior hallway. If no shelter is available, lie in a nearby ditch.

History of Tornado Forecasting

Prediction of severe weather progressed slowly at the start of the nineteenth century. While earlier limited attempts were made to observe the weather, not until 1870 did the development of a weather forecast service by the U. S. Army Signal Corps begin. Weather observers were used to create charts for the forecaster who used the data for daily reports. Additionally, the data were used in some secondary research.

In 1882, Sgt. John Finley established a project called "tornado studies." Finley's intent was to perform a serious study of tornadoes and associated weather conditions. As a result, the first tornado predictions were issued in March 1884. Early predictions relied heavily on the severe storm and tornado charts developed by Sgt. Finley. Much of Sgt. Finley's work would be unutilized because official policy prohibited use of the word "tornado" in forecasts. Although the ban was supposed to prevent undue panic within the public, the only thing it really prevented was severe storm research.

Even with the establishment of the Weather Bureau in 1891, no significant advancements were made in forecasting techniques for nearly fifty years. On the evening of March 20, 1948, a tornado ripped through Tinker Air Force Base, destroying 32 military aircraft and causing considerable damage to many buildings on the base. Five days later, two members of the Air Weather Service, Major Ernest Fawbush and Captain Robert Miller, realized conditions were similar to the previous storm and issued a warning of a possible tornado. Their prediction received great attention and soon Fawbush and Miller were responsible for tornado forecasting for much of the central United States.

However, even with the success of the Fawbush-Miller prediction, the Weather Bureau continued to withhold tornado predictions. In May 1952, under pressure from citizens and the media, the Weather Bureau released storm forecasts from its Washington D.C. headquarters. Soon it became clear that the prediction center should be moved closer to the Central Plains where most severe storms occur. In 1954, the National Severe Storms Forecast Center was established in Kansas City, Missouri.

Reference: Historical Essays on Meteorology; Edited by Roger Fleming. Chapter 10, Severe Convective Storms: A Brief History of Science and Practice; Kenneth C. Crawford and Edwin Kessler, Pgs. 307-319