A teachable moment on tornado safety
We preach, during a tornado, if you can't seek below ground shelter, put as many walls between you and the elements as you can. Often times that location is an interior closet or bathroom.
Automobiles should be abandoned for sturdy shelter. However, some research supports your safety could be OK if the tornado is rather weak and it would be better than trying to seek cover in a ditch or depression.
Obviously, in the image below, from the May 1999 Oklahoma City/Moore tornado, this vehicle was not a good place to ride out the storm.
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After a detailed review by a team of meteorological experts, we'll know more about yesterday's devastating tornado intensity compared to the May 3,1999 tornado.
When I speak about having NOAA Weather Radio at hand, I'm talking about a specific receiver that looks like this. It delivers 24 hour a day weather and alerts for warnings in your location. Multiple radios are recommended for businesses and schools.
Image:NOAA
Change your battery regularly. Test alerts are sent weekly by the NWS around 1 p.m. CDT on Wednesdays.
The visible satellite image from mid-afternoon nicely depicted the blossoming thunderstorms in northeast Texas. Severe storms are likely this afternoon into tonight.
Visible satellite 325 p.m. CDT
Source:NOAA/College of DuPage
Here's the Storm Prediction Center's update for the severe weather threat for the remainder of the afternoon and into the overnight hours.
Craig Edwards