CITY OF PIEDMONT

P.O. Box 240
Piedmont, OK  73078
405-373-2621 (Phone)
405-373-3243 (Fax)

Tornado Safety Tips

Tornado season in the Midwest is normally during the months of March through May.  There are two different types of alerts given by your local news:

	Tornado Watch: the conditions are right for tornadoes to occur.  Watch the sky and make sure to stay tuned to your local news or radio station for updates.
	Tornado Warning: there is a tornado on the ground that has been sighted in your area and you should immediately execute your tornado safety plan.

Before tornado season arrives, there are a few tips you might want to do to prepare:

	Always know where you can take shelter.  Practice the drill at least once with your family and co-workers.
	Know the signs of a tornado such as strong, consistent rotation at the cloud base, dust or debris in the air under the cloud base, and hail or heavy rain followed by calm or intense wind shift.

If you are not in your house or a building, these tips will help you stay safe:

	Find the lowest level of the ground to lie flat on.
	Cover yourself up if possible with something to protect you from falling debris.
	Do not take shelter in your vehicle or under an underpass! Find a ditch or low lying area.

After a tornado moves through, make sure to gather your family or co-workers and wait for emergency services to arrive.  Avoid downed power lines and debris.  Try to remain calm and listen for alerts from local officials.

The Fujita Scale measures how intense a tornado is.  It measures wind speeds and the amount of damage that the tornado seemed to produce.

Category F0: Light damage, less that 73 mph winds.  Some damage done to chimneys, branches may be broken off of trees, small or shallow rooted trees may be knocked over and signs damaged.

Category F1: Moderate damage, winds form 73 to 112 mph. Damage may be done to rooftops, mobile homes overturned or pushed off their foundations, automobiles may be knocked off the road.

Category F2: Considerable damage, winds from 113-157 mph. Roofs may be torn off homes, large trees snapped in half or uprooted completely.  Light objects missiles created, and cars lifted off the ground.

Category F3: Severe damage, winds from 158-206 mph.  Roofs and walls torn off well built homes.  Most trees uprooted and heavy cars lifted and thrown around.

Category F4: Devastating damage, winds from 207-206 mph. Well built homes leveled, buildings and structures with weak foundations blown several feet from foundation, cars thrown and large missiles created.

Category F5: Incredible damage, winds from 261-318 mph.  Well built homes swept away from their foundations, automobile missiles created, trees are debarked. Complete devastation. 

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