{ "slug": "responding-to-a-severe-weather-warning-while-away-from-home", "url": "https://checklists.org/c/responding-to-a-severe-weather-warning-while-away-from-home", "markdown": "https://checklists.org/c/responding-to-a-severe-weather-warning-while-away-from-home.md", "title": "Responding to a Severe Weather Warning While Away From Home", "description": "What to do in the first minutes after a tornado, flood, or storm warning hits while you're out and about.", "category": "safety", "tags": [ "severe-weather", "tornado", "flood", "emergency-preparedness" ], "version": "1.0", "updated": "2026-08-25", "sources": [ { "name": "National Weather Service — Tornado Safety", "url": "https://www.weather.gov/safety/tornado" }, { "name": "National Weather Service — Turn Around Don't Drown (Flood Safety)", "url": "https://www.weather.gov/safety/flood" }, { "name": "National Weather Service — Thunderstorm Safety", "url": "https://www.weather.gov/safety/thunderstorm" }, { "name": "Ready.gov — Tornadoes", "url": "https://www.ready.gov/tornadoes" }, { "name": "Ready.gov — Floods", "url": "https://www.ready.gov/floods" } ], "intro": "Being caught by a tornado, flash flood, or severe thunderstorm warning when you're not home — in the car, at work, shopping, out with kids — is disorienting because you don't have your usual safe spot. This walks you through what to do in the moments right after the alert hits, and how to get yourself and anyone with you somewhere safe fast.", "itemCount": 32, "essentialCount": 10, "sections": [ { "title": "The Moment the Alert Comes In", "items": [ { "id": "1a76pau", "text": "Read the warning type before reacting", "note": "\"watch\" means conditions are possible, \"warning\" means it's happening or imminent, act now on a warning", "essential": true }, { "id": "iejusq", "text": "Check what the warning is for (tornado, flash flood, severe thunderstorm)", "note": "the safe action is different for each" }, { "id": "w2ff02", "text": "Note your exact location and nearest cross streets or landmark", "note": "you'll need this if you call anyone or need to describe where you are" }, { "id": "1qqqg5a", "text": "Check how much time you have", "note": "a tornado warning based on radar may give you only minutes" }, { "id": "1yp3ols", "text": "Silence the urge to keep driving toward your destination if a tornado warning is active", "note": "get off the road and shelter instead", "essential": true } ] }, { "title": "Tornado Warning Away From Home", "items": [ { "id": "16iyeh0", "text": "Get inside the nearest sturdy building immediately, away from windows", "essential": true }, { "id": "iijxb1", "text": "Go to the lowest floor and an interior room or hallway", "note": "a bathroom, closet, or stairwell is ideal" }, { "id": "74tjxh", "text": "Never shelter under a highway overpass", "note": "it can actually funnel wind and debris and is more dangerous than open ground", "essential": true }, { "id": "1hanzv2", "text": "Abandon your car if no sturdy building is reachable — lie flat in a low ditch or depression and cover your head", "note": "only if truly no building or shelter is within reach", "when": "no-shelter-available" }, { "id": "5jomel", "text": "Avoid large open-span buildings like big-box stores, gyms, or auditoriums", "note": "the roof structure is more likely to fail" }, { "id": "1ox42qy", "text": "Cover your head and neck with your arms, a coat, or a blanket wherever you shelter" }, { "id": "13mtcb6", "text": "Keep kids or others with you close and calm", "note": "physically stay together in the shelter spot" } ] }, { "title": "Flash Flood Warning Away From Home", "items": [ { "id": "p8r3tv", "text": "Turn around at any flooded road — never drive or walk into moving water, even if it looks shallow", "essential": true }, { "id": "1exywsi", "text": "Assume the road is out under standing water", "note": "depth and road condition underneath are impossible to judge from the surface", "essential": true }, { "id": "3ehgrd", "text": "Get out of your car and move to higher ground immediately if water is rising around the vehicle", "essential": true }, { "id": "dj51ok", "text": "Avoid walking through moving water", "note": "as little as 6 inches can knock an adult off their feet" }, { "id": "2opod9", "text": "Stay off low bridges, dips, and underpasses until the warning ends" }, { "id": "1kmg46k", "text": "Head for higher floors if you're in a building in a flood-prone area — don't go to the basement" } ] }, { "title": "Severe Thunderstorm Warning Away From Home", "items": [ { "id": "13l0kpi", "text": "Move indoors or into a hard-topped vehicle", "note": "a severe thunderstorm can still bring damaging wind and large hail" }, { "id": "6543ex", "text": "Stay away from windows and glass doors", "note": "to avoid hail and wind-driven debris" }, { "id": "1qv3is2", "text": "Pull over and stop driving if hail is heavy or visibility drops sharply", "note": "find a covered spot like a gas station canopy if possible" }, { "id": "xkqixk", "text": "Avoid sheltering directly under trees or isolated tall structures if lightning is frequent" }, { "id": "ihdv64", "text": "Unplug or step back from anything you're charging or plugged in if you're inside near an outlet during an active lightning threat" } ] }, { "title": "While You Wait It Out", "items": [ { "id": "jr4fnt", "text": "Keep a battery or crank weather radio, or your phone with alerts on", "note": "so you know when the warning is cancelled or extended", "essential": true }, { "id": "1ksi4gf", "text": "Stay put until the warning expires or local officials give an all-clear", "note": "don't leave shelter just because the sky looks calmer" }, { "id": "p0t4rr", "text": "Text rather than call people to let them know you're safe", "note": "texts get through more reliably when networks are jammed" }, { "id": "1p77sme", "text": "Check your phone's battery and consider a backup power bank in your bag or car", "note": "for exactly this kind of situation" }, { "id": "feqmqt", "text": "Watch for downed power lines, broken glass, or debris before you move your car or walk back outside", "essential": true }, { "id": "1osn7zt", "text": "Report a downed power line to the utility company and keep everyone away from it", "note": "treat every line as live", "essential": true } ] }, { "title": "Before You Get Back on the Road", "items": [ { "id": "r8ckj4", "text": "Check current road conditions and closures before driving", "note": "a route that was fine 20 minutes ago may now be flooded or blocked" }, { "id": "149lryt", "text": "Watch for a second wave of storms", "note": "many severe weather events come in a line or cluster, not a single cell" }, { "id": "1mbbz1w", "text": "Recheck the warning status for your route's whole path, not just where you are now", "when": "driving-through-multiple-counties-or-towns" } ] } ] }