Tornado 101: What you need to know about staying safe

Tips to stay safe in case of a tornadic outbreak

Tornadoes are a threat to many parts of Canada during the spring and summer months, and even if the environment is extremely favourable for supercell tornadoes, forecasters have limited ability to say when or if a specific storm will produce a tornado.

To help keep you and your family safe, below is a refresher on what's most important to remember when a tornado warning is issued in your area.

WATCH: What's the difference between a watch and a warning?

SEE ALSO: Stuck in your car during a tornado? Here’s what you should do

TOP TIPS COURTESY OF RED CROSS:

  • Identify a safe place in your home where household members and pets will gather during a tornado: a basement, storm cellar or an interior room on the lowest floor with no windows.

  • In a high-rise building, pick a hallway in the center of the building. You may not have enough time to go to the lowest floor.

  • In a mobile home, choose a safe place in a nearby sturdy building. If your mobile home park has a designated shelter, make it your safe place. No mobile home, however it is configured, is safe in a tornado.

Click here for a zoomable version of the graphic below.

Tornado safety graphic

Additional tip: You'll also want to make sure you are wearing good shoes. If your area takes a direct hit, you do not want to walk through a debris field barefoot.

Be sure to watch the video that leads this article for more potentially life-saving tips from meteorologist and storm chaser, Jaclyn Whittal.

WATCH BELOW: What to do if a tornado warning occurs while in an apartment

Thumbnail credit: Kyle Brittain/Supplied