Full Notification

Severe Weather Safety Tips

(Paulding County, GA) The Paulding County Sheriff’s Office wants to share some weather safety tips for you to follow in the event of severe weather.  Here are some definitions and guidelines to follow to help keep you and your family safe. 

Tornado Watch

A Tornado Watch means that conditions are favorable for tornado development.  People located in and around the watch area should keep an eye toward the sky and listen to their NOAA weather radio or tune to local broadcast media for further weather information.  The watch is intended to give you time to prepare and review your safety rules. 

Tornado Warning

A Tornado Warning means that a tornado has been detected by the National Weather Service Doppler radar or a reliable report of a tornado has been reported from the field.  A tornado warning is usually issued for portions of one or two counties for an hour or less.  The storm could also produce large hail and destructive straight line winds.  If the tornado warning includes your neighborhood or work place, you should seek safe shelter immediately.

In the event of a tornado, here are some tornado safety rules to keep you and your family safe:

• In general, get as low as you can.  A basement below ground level or the lowest floor of a building offers the greatest safety.  Put as many walls between yourself and the outside as possible.  Avoid windows at all costs!
• Tornadoes could be obscured by rainfall or come in the overnight hours.  Do not wait until you see or hear the tornado, it may be too late.
• Do not waste time opening or closing windows and doors.  It will not protect the structure.  You will only waste time and put yourself and others at greater risk.  Use those valuable seconds to find a place of safety.
• In homes or public buildings go to the basement or a small interior room such as a closet, bathroom or an interior hall on the lowest level.  Close all doors to the hallway for greater protection.  If possible, get under something sturdy like a heavy table.  Protect yourself from flying debris with pillows, heavy coats, blankets, or quilts.  Use bicycle or motorcycle helmets to protect your head.
• If you are inside a mobile home, leave well in advance of the approaching severe weather and go to a strong building.  If there is no shelter nearby, get into the nearest ditch, low spot or underground culvert.  Lie flat, covering your head with your hands for protection.
• If you are in a vehicle or outdoors when tornadoes are possible, limit your outdoor plans or finish them early.  Stay close to a sturdy shelter.  If caught outside, find shelter in a ditch or remain in your vehicle and cover your head for protection.  Do not take shelter under a highway overpass, where wind speeds can increase due to a tunneling effect.  It is best not to put yourself or others in a situation where no sturdy shelter is available. 
• Remember, stay away from doors, windows, outside walls and protect your head!

Severe Weather Preparedness

Before the Storm…

Review your Severe Weather Safety Plan.

• What actions will you take when a watch is issued?  What about a warning?
• Remember damaging straight line winds can cause as much damage as a weak tornado.
• Do you know where your weather shelter/safe room is located?

Check Severe Weather Alerting and Notifications.

• Do you have multiple ways of receiving severe weather information?
• Will one of those ways wake you if asleep?
• Is your NOAA Weather Radio programmed correctly with fresh batteries?

Stay Weather Aware!

Monitor NOAA Weather Radio and weather.gov as well as local media outlets for the latest forecast information for your area.