Tornado Weather

Living in the southern end of tornado alley all my 70 years I can tell you be aware but not worried. In that time I have seen 3 and the last one of any significance at all to hit our town was in 1948. Although tornados are extremely destructive, they actually do damage in relatively small areas. Typically they are in the range of 1/4 mile wide and stay on the ground for only a few miles. That amounts to a very tiny fraction of the land area. Obviously some are much larger. Of course none of that matters if you happen to be caught in the path of one.

Check local forecast daily. If storms are forecast, check several times daily. Have a good radar on your smart phone. Don't drive into a storm in your path. Stop and let it pass. When you stop for the night, ask if the RV park has a storm shelter or designated safe area. If not ask where the nearest safe area may be. If there are no better options nearby and a severe storm is approaching then go to a nearby large Walmart, Home Depot, lowes, or similar store. They typically have areas designated for their employees and customers to go in that event. Don't stay in the RV or car or truck if in the path of a tornado.

We have had some tornado's recently here. If we all were to hide out during a tornado warning we wouldn't get much done. I have seen them in the distance, usually easy in the daytime. If I were to see one in the distance I would drive away from it. If I were to actually be faced with eminent danger I would stop at the closet residence and ask to take shelter in their basement. Most homes have basements where I am at. I would keep an eye on the radar map via your smart phone, you can watch these storms building and the direction they are traveling very closely. If you do this you should be able to avoid driving into one. As others have stated when at the campground ask the locals where to go. All though you may be disappointed as lots of times there is not a great place around the campgrounds to go. JMHO

I'm in the middle of Kansas and next week they have rain in the forecast but no severe weather. This week has been a different story.

It takes several ingredients to form a tornado and they can predict when the weather is favorable for the formation of a tornado well in advance.

Make sure your RV is covered by insurance. There's no predicting when or where a tornado will strike so make sure your stuff is insured.

We are currently in MI on a trip from Oregon. We came through AZ and NM. Then we were going to cross central TX and see LA, MS and visit friends in TN. After monitoring the weather we headed north and went through north TX and OK just ahead of some tornadoes, then through MO, which has been having bad weather since. We had one thunderstorm in Amarillo that pelted us with grape sized hailstones. Fortunately, we suffered no damage. From IN to MI, we have had no threatening weather although a severe thunderstorm passed through Cheboygan, just south of our location in Mackinaw City.

My advice is to closely monitor the weather, and don't go where you could get into trouble. If you are planning to visit friends or relatives in the places you have listed, I am sure they would rather have you alive to call them and say "we can't make it," rather than risk your life. We have found that every bit of this great country is beautiful, even if we didn't see some of the places and people we had planned to see. JMHO

Good luck :S

Get a weather radio and monitor it constantly. Look at a map and know what county you're in so when they name counties you can be more alert.

If you're in a county they mention, find a RV park fast. When you check in asked for the nearest storm shelter. Many times, the bath house is the best because it's usually made out of concrete and doesn't have many windows. We've spent many hours in the Arkansas bath houses in state parks as we traveled the state. Men and women in the same place along with dogs, chairs, water, snacks and we always had a party atmosphere - never a tornado.

If you can't find a RV park near, try a rest area and go into their bath house. Above all, don't stay in your RV. That's the most unsafe place.

Beyond that...just relax and don't let the thought ruin your trip. The liklihood of one hitting near you is great but be prepared.

Glad you brought this up I've been wondering the same thing.

One advise, maybe? is when you arrive at a CG ask them about what to do and where to go if tornados are at risk. Ask them is there any safe houses at the CG or nearby.

Have a good weather alert system, maybe your smartphone. Other than not going there, I wouldn't know what else you could do.