What to do when a warning is issued for North Alabama and Southern Tennessee. Read it now, before the storm, and make a plan with everyone in your home.
A tornado warning means a tornado is happening or about to happen near you. Don't wait to see it or hear it.
In a house or building
Go to a basement or storm shelter if you have one.
No basement: go to a small interior room on the lowest floor, like a closet, bathroom or hallway, with as many walls between you and the outside as possible.
Stay away from windows and doors.
Cover your head and neck with your arms, pillows, a mattress or a heavy blanket. Put on bike or sports helmets if you have them; head injuries cause most tornado deaths.
Wear sturdy shoes so you can walk through debris afterward.
In a mobile home
Leave. Mobile and manufactured homes are not safe in a tornado, even if they're tied down. Know ahead of time where you'll go: a neighbor's sturdy house, a community shelter, or a nearby business. Go when the watch is issued if your shelter is more than a few minutes away.
In a car
Do not shelter under a highway overpass. Wind speeds up under bridges.
If you can safely get to a sturdy building, do it.
If you're caught with no shelter, stay buckled in with your head below the windows and covered, or get into a ditch or low spot away from the car and cover your head.
At night
Many of the deadliest tornadoes in the Tennessee Valley have struck after dark. Keep your phone charged and alerts turned on, sleep with a weather radio nearby, and know your shelter spot before you go to bed on a stormy night.
Extreme Wind Warning
Issued when a hurricane's core brings winds of 115 mph or more. Treat it exactly like a tornado warning and take shelter in an interior room right away.
Flash flooding
Turn around, don't drown
Never drive or walk into flooded roads. Most flood deaths happen in vehicles.
Six inches of moving water can knock an adult off their feet.
About a foot of moving water can float most cars, and two feet can sweep away SUVs and trucks.
You can't tell how deep water is or whether the road under it has washed out, especially at night.
If water rises around your car and you can get out safely, get to higher ground.
If you're told to evacuate, go. Move to higher ground before the water rises, not after.
Keep children away from creeks, ditches and storm drains during and after heavy rain.
Severe thunderstorms and lightning
A severe thunderstorm has winds of 58 mph or more, or hail one inch across or larger. Storms like that can bring down trees and power lines and do as much damage as a weak tornado.
Get inside a sturdy building and stay away from windows.
Bring pets inside, and move cars into a garage if you can do it before the storm arrives.
Stay away from downed power lines. Assume every line is live.
When thunder roars, go indoors
If you can hear thunder, you're close enough to be struck by lightning. Stay inside until 30 minutes after the last thunder.
A hard-topped car with the windows up is safe. Open shelters, pavilions, tents and dugouts are not.
Indoors, stay off corded phones and out of the shower or bath during the storm.
Watch vs. warning
Watch
Conditions are right for severe weather to develop. Get ready: review your plan, charge your phone, know where you'll shelter.
Warning
Severe weather is happening or about to happen in your area. Act now and take shelter.
Advisories are for weather that's a nuisance or hazard but less dangerous, like wind or fog. Statements give updates or details about ongoing weather.
Storm kit checklist
Keep these in your shelter spot or in a bag you can grab fast.
Water: a gallon per person per day, for at least three days
Non-perishable food and a manual can opener
Flashlights and extra batteries
NOAA weather radio, battery or hand-crank
Phone chargers and a charged power bank
First aid kit
Medicines and copies of prescriptions
Helmets for everyone, including kids
Sturdy shoes and work gloves
Whistle to signal for help
Blankets or sleeping bags
Copies of IDs and insurance papers in a waterproof bag
Some cash
Pet food, leashes and carriers
Baby supplies: formula, diapers, wipes
Have more than one way to get warnings
Outdoor sirens are meant for people outside and often can't be heard indoors, especially during a loud storm or while you're asleep. Don't rely on any single source.
NOAA weather radio with battery backup. It wakes you up at night.
Wireless Emergency Alerts on your phone. Make sure emergency alerts are turned on in your phone's settings.
NorthBamaWX phone alerts: free push alerts for our 15 counties through the ntfy app. Set them up here.
The NorthBamaWX live stream reads every warning out loud the moment it's issued. Watch live.