what to do when severe weather is forecast

On evening we watched the local TV as a tornado moved towards us showing where it was in real time. Had the RV ready to move as it was moving at a 45 degree angle to the Interstate that was a couple hundred yards away from the RV park. It ended up going across the Interstate about 10 miles west of us so stayed put. If it's track had come our way I would have gotten on the Interstate east bound and down at 70 mph...it was moving at aprox 20 mph.

If 40-50 mph winds are in the forecast I leave the slides and awnings in and roll over and go back to sleep. I will travel with 30 mph crosswinds and higher if on the tail.

How I did it when a dude named Matthew Came Calling.. I was 3 miles from the mandatory evac line. the park owner SPLIT.. i'd have liked to but not practical.

Brought in awning.. Secured as best as I could.. If you can bring in slides. Road it out.. No damage worth talking about (there was some "damage" but I'm not sure it was from the storm believe it or not).

Not my first "high wind" have slept in gusts over 100 MPH with no problem. NO awning out, but no problem The awning is the biggest wind issue.

Also if you know what direction the wind will come from park facing downwind but I was "Quartered" (The worst position) in those 100+ gusts.

Best option for tornados (By folks did you know a Tornado makes a Hurricane look tame? Yup. an Class 5 Hurricane is about a 2 on the tornado scale.. Just much much bigger).

Best option on both Hurricanes and Tornadoes (Fire, Flood, Blizzard, Earthquake, Landslide, and all other disasters) is be somewhere else. But that's not always an option.

(note. that last paragraph is the official right answer to an official Government Test Question).

rgatijnet1 wrote:
and levelers retracted. Then we let Mother Nature rock us to sleep. :B

Why exactly do you think it is better to have the "levelers" retracted ?

I would think that it's much better to have them DOWN, so that they all touch the ground for extra stability.

Pull in any slides and awnings.

If lightening, disconnect from shore power.

Go to a safe location.

find a place to hide. Rock outcrops are best. Watch out for old trees and snags. I do not like traveling in high winds with an RV.

Many place get a lot of wind like Wyoming. Nevada is windy so we do not notice much until it gets to about 40 mph.

Whenever we encountered severe weather while on the road, we always retracted the levelers and secured all awnings, pulled in the slides, and watched the weather closely. When in "tornado alley" we have left the coach to go to the tornado shelter (which many RV parks in the mid-west have) if it appears that a tornado is about to move through the area.
When in other areas, and if we are just expecting gusty winds, we just sit it out in the coach with the slides, awnings, and levelers retracted. Then we let Mother Nature rock us to sleep. :B

Sounds like a plan-- secure stuff outside. 50 mph gusts... no big deal, you drive faster than that all the time. Tornados- I guess get ready to shelter in the CG bathhouse should one approach. Do you have a weather radio ? That would help with warning.