Stay Safe on the Road during Tornado Season

This article is from the April 1st newsletter of Truckers News. (Editor Teresa Boykin) 

April, May, and June are the months with the most potential of having tornadoes. Tornadoes pose a serious danger to anyone caught in their path, but especially to truck drivers, who are constantly on the road and may have difficulty finding shelter in time. By far, the safest thing to do is to stay off the road until the severe weather passes, but tornadoes are unpredictable and driving schedules are demanding, so knowing how to remain safe in such conditions is essential. 

“Knowing what times of the year are most favorable, you start to see some of those signs — the heavy rain, the intense rain, some gusty winds, some large hail — that’s a sign that that thunderstorm is very significant, and it could be that storm that produces a tornado,” said John De Block warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service. 

Do not park underneath an overpass. Overpasses are not safe areas for shelter during a tornado. Many of those structures are built without girders providing any type of crawl space, and an area above the true ground level will leave a person susceptible to higher wind speeds and more flying debris. Furthermore, the overpass can cause a tunnel effect with the wind, increasing speed, and as the tornado passes an overpass that is directly in its path, wind direction can change 180 degrees as the vortex passes. 

There are two signals to listen for, a tornado watch and a tornado warning, with a simple way to differentiate one from the other: 

A tornado watch means that conditions in the area are favorable to the formation of a tornado, which means drivers should “watch” for things to get worse. 

A tornado warning means one has been spotted in the area, which means drivers have been “warned” about the imminent danger. 

Be safe out there!