How To Prepare for Tornadoes – A Checklist

It’s tornado season in the South and if you’re not ready, you should be. Although the season runs from March through May, tornadoes are possible at any time throughout the spring, summer, and fall. Often forming with little advance warning, tornadoes bring high winds, lightening, torrential rains, and flooding, increasing your chances of being without electricity. Considering the damage that can be done to local infrastructure, power may not be available for some time; many families enjoy the security that comes with a whole-home power generator.

But there is also a list of things you can do to help protect your family and minimize property damage. Here is a checklist for helping you stay prepared – for any disaster.

• Dead trees or limbs need to be removed as soon as possible – regardless of the time of year. If the wind, whether it’s a tornado or straight-line winds, don’t fell the tree, the dead limbs can become missiles that take out windows in your house and/or car.
• Keep loose items off the lawn and stored indoors. Kids’ toys, bicycles, lawn furniture, hanging plants, garbage canisters, and similar items need to be brought indoors at the first sign of threatening weather.
• Get an AM/FM radio so that you listen to the local weather so you can keep up with what’s going on “out there.” Battery operated radios are inexpensive but so are the kind that you wind by hand that don’t require batteries – you never have to worry whether it will work.
• Pack a survival bag (good for various circumstances involving natural and man-made disasters). The Generac Corporation has provided an emergency list to help you prepare yours.
• Know the signs for a tornado: A sudden significant decrease in outdoor temperature accompanied by rain or hail, pea-green clouds, and a sound similar to an approaching train are definite signs of a tornado in your area.
• Get to the lowest part of your house, away from windows and doors. If you live in a one story house – get to a central hallway. Cover yourself with heavy blankets or even a mattress to shield you from flying or falling debris.
• Devise a plan then practice tornado drills with your family. They need to know what to do if, for any reason, you’re not around.

If you already have an emergency standby generator, remember to follow all the manufacturer’s guidelines for routine maintenance. Many of our customers opt for a maintenance plan to ensure that their generator will provide peak performance whenever it’s needed most.