Community Corner

How to Handle a Tornado

The Red Cross has some tips for how to handle severe weather.

Q. What do you do if you're driving in your car and a tornado is nearby?

A. If you can't get to a shelter, you might want to find a good ditch to lie in. That's according to the Red Cross, which released a "Tornado Safety Checklist" Tuesday:

If you can safely get noticeably lower than the level of the roadway, exit your car and lie in that area, covering your head with your hands.

Find out what's happening in Malvernwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Another option is to stay in the car, seatbelt on, with your head lower than the windows, covering your head with your hands. The checklist covers these topics:

  • How to be prepared for a tornado
  • What to do is a tornado is threatening
  • What do to after a tornado

There is also a note stressing the importance of letting loved ones know you are OK, which you can do on the American Red Cross Safe and Well website at redcross.org.

Find out what's happening in Malvernwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The safety lesson comes after a tornado warning was issued for parts of Delaware County Tuesday. No tornado was reported to have formed in Pennsylvania, but Accuweather reported a possible funnel cloud near Wilmington, Del. Lansdale Patch also reported on a in Montgomery County on July 29.

To view the Red Cross tornado checklist, click the PDF document attached to this article. There is also a similar tip sheet for staying safe in severe thunderstorms.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Malvern