Where to shelter during a tornado: home, work, or car

When a tornado warning is issued, you need to know where to go before you need to go there. The goal everywhere is the same: get low, get inside, and put as many walls as you can between you and the outside. Here is how that works in different places.

The basic rule

The best place is a safe room built to FEMA standards or a storm shelter built to ICC 500 standards. If you don’t have one, go to a basement, or to a small interior room with no windows on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Stay away from windows, doors, and outside walls, and protect yourself from flying debris.

House with a basement

• Go to the basement and stay away from windows.
• Get under something sturdy, such as a heavy table or workbench, or cover yourself with a mattress or sleeping bag.
• Avoid spots under heavy objects on the floor above, such as a piano, refrigerator, or waterbed. They could fall through a weakened floor.
• Take pets with you if there is time.

House or apartment without a basement

• Go to the lowest floor.
• Pick a small interior room, like a bathroom or closet, a spot under a stairwell, or an interior hallway with no windows.
• Crouch as low as you can, face down, and cover your head.
• Cover yourself with thick padding, such as a mattress or blankets.
• A metal bathtub can give some partial protection. Plastic and fiberglass tubs do not.

Office building, high-rise, hospital, or nursing home

• Go to an enclosed, windowless area in the center of the building, on the lowest floor you can reach, away from glass.
• Interior stairwells are often a good choice.
• Crouch down and cover your head.
• Do not use elevators.

Schools, stores, and churches

• School or workplace: follow your tornado drill and go to the shelter area quickly and calmly. Avoid large open rooms like gyms, cafeterias, and auditoriums.
• Store or shopping mall: move to an interior bathroom, storage room, or other small enclosed area away from windows.
• Church or theater: move in an orderly way to an interior bathroom or hallway, away from windows. If there is no time, get under the seats or pews and protect your head.

Mobile or manufactured home

Leave. Mobile homes are not safe in a tornado, even if they are tied down. Go to a sturdy building or an underground shelter. If someone in your family lives in a mobile home, plan ahead for where they will go, such as staying with someone in a sturdy building when tornadoes are forecast.

In a car

There is no fully safe option in a vehicle, only less dangerous ones.

• If the tornado is far away and traffic is light, you may be able to drive out of its path by moving at right angles to it. Otherwise, drive to a sturdy building if you can.
• If you are caught by strong wind or flying debris, park out of traffic lanes. Stay buckled in, keep your head below the windows, and cover your head with your hands and a coat or blanket if you have one.
• If you can safely get noticeably lower than the road, such as in a ditch, leave the car, lie down there, and cover your head.
• Do not shelter under a bridge or overpass. Wind can speed up there, debris can blow through, and parked cars can block the road.

Outdoors

Get into a sturdy building right away. Sheds, storage buildings, and tents are not safe. If there is no building nearby, lie flat and face down in low ground, protect the back of your head, and stay away from trees and cars.

Protect your head and neck

Wherever you shelter, watch out for flying debris.

• Cover your head and neck with your arms.
• Put furniture, blankets, or a mattress around or over you.
• A helmet can help protect your head.
• Stay put until the danger has passed, and follow updates from NOAA Weather Radio or local officials.

Plan it before you need it

Pick your shelter spot now, at home, at work, and anywhere you spend a lot of time, and practice getting there. Do the same with older relatives for their homes. See how to make a severe weather plan for family.

See current warnings on the live tornado warning map.