Preparing your flock and your family for tornadoes and other severe weather.

[Artichoke Lover]

In less than a week it will officially be spring. And for a good bit of the United States that means the start to tornado season (though they can happen any time of the year). So I thought I would make a thread to discuss severe weather preparedness and offer some guidance. The two biggest things I can say are to have at least two ways of getting severe weather alerts and to have a plan in place before you need it. And one of these should be able to wake you up. The best option for this is a weather radio. It will still operate even when cell towers are down your phone won’t. Never ever rely on sirens. Chances are you are too far away to hear it over a heavy thunderstorm much less have it wake you up.
Make sure you have a plan for where to go if a warning happens. NEVER stay in a house trailer. The best place to go is a storm shelter. If that isn’t an option get on the lowest floor of your house in a room with no windows and as many walls between you and the outside as possible. Know whether not you can or will bring pets with you and if you are have they’re crates or leases ready to go.
For your family have bike, batting, or football helmets ready by the door or in your safe place. You will want hard soled shoes too if at all possible. Tennis shoes are not hard soled shoes and could be punctured by debris.

Put together an emergency grab bag having one of these is a good ideas for anyone with severe weather, fires, floods, hurricanes. Not just tornadoes.
Your grab bag should contain:

At least 1 change of clothing for everyone in your household

•Flashlights and extra batteries

•Phone and other device chargers

•Air horn to let Emergancy responders know where you are.

•non perishable food and bottled water incase you are trapped.

•First aid supplies.

•a weeks worth of medication

•Person hygiene items

•Cash

Additional items:

•Pet food

• Baby Food or formula

•blankets

•poncho

•matches

•pencil and paper

•coloring books or games for children

•Fire extinguisher

Preparing your flock
The easiest way to make sure your flock in secure is to make sure you coop is properly secured into the with post when you build it. For some of us it isn’t practical like if you buy a prefab or secondhand coop. In those cases you have 2 options
Option A. bring your flock inside and take them to your shelter with you. This only works if you have a very small flock that can live as house chickens for a day. You will need to bring them inside before the storm hits. DO NOT run out to the coop in the middle of the storm your chickens aren’t worth your life.
Option B. Secure your coop the best you can. Remove any objects that could go flying if the coop overturn. Hay bales, feed bins, cages. Feeders and waterers should be tied down so they don’t go flying. Shore up any lose boards and make sure all doors and windows are tightly closed. Once again do this before the storm hits. You never want to risk being outside in a tornado or hail storm.

If anyone else has tips or information on what to do during other kinds of severe weather please share.

 

[Chookchicken]

As someone who doesn’t live in the US this all seems oddly scary. How do you guys do this every year? I can barely cope when the wind gets over 25 km/hr. Wishing you all good luck and stay safe.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

As someone who doesn’t live in the US this all seems oddly scary. How do you guys do this every year? I can barely cope when the wind gets over 25 km/hr. Wishing you all good luck and stay safe.

The odds of getting hit are actually very low. But for the areas that do get hit it’s devastating. And that’s why we prepare. Just in case it is us this time. Also it’s just kind of normal for us who grew up in an area where tornadoes are common. Personally I don’t understand how people on the West coast cope with earthquakes all the time

 

[LizzzyJo]

As someone who doesn’t live in the US this all seems oddly scary. How do you guys do this every year? I can barely cope when the wind gets over 25 km/hr. Wishing you all good luck and stay safe.

You adopt a deep-seated fear of rapidly changing weather, green and purple skies, and become accustomed to nightmares about outrunning F5s. I was born and raised in the south, but moved up north about 11 years ago. I still have nightmares.

With each storm, the chances of being hit are unfathomably low, but someone will be hit. It's like the opposite of winning the lottery.

~~May the odds be ever in your favor

 

[photohutch13]

I grew up and still live in the midwest which used to be prime tornado threat country. That being said, when we hear a tornado warning has been issued for our area the first thought is to go outside and check the sky. It's not that we're fearless or even stupid. Having grown up with the threat of tornadoes you learn to appreciate them but not live in fear of them. There have only been a couple of times in my life when we've felt the need to take shelter in the basement. We diligently watch and listen to the weather so we know what the situation is. We will never disregard the danger a tornado represents as we've seen the destruction caused by too many but we won't live in fear either. My storm shelter is properly prepared just in case (hopefully the clothes I've put in there for us still fit! ) I pray that all of you stay weather safe!

 

[LizzzyJo]

I grew up and still live in the midwest which used to be prime tornado threat country. That being said, when we hear a tornado warning has been issued for our area the first thought is to go outside and check the sky. It's not that we're fearless or even stupid. Having grown up with the threat of tornadoes you learn to appreciate them but not live in fear of them. There have only been a couple of times in my life when we've felt the need to take shelter in the basement. We diligently watch and listen to the weather so we know what the situation is. We will never disregard the danger a tornado represents as we've seen the destruction caused by too many but we won't live in fear either. My storm shelter is properly prepared just in case (hopefully the clothes I've put in there for us still fit! ) I pray that all of you stay weather safe!

What's fascinating about this to me is the geographic differences. I am from Kentucky and the mountains preclude our ability to examine far flung sky scapes. Our tornadoes are much smaller and less destructive, but they come down and destroy one neighborhood and disappear quickly. They are faster and more random, but still kill. Yours are massive, but you can often see them coming, as you've said. I wonder if that elicits a different fear-response pattern? I now live in the 'flatlands' and we can see weather patterns 20 miles away - something that is absolutely impossible in the mountains.

 

[photohutch13]

What's fascinating about this to me is the geographic differences. I am from Kentucky and the mountains preclude our ability to examine far flung sky scapes. Our tornadoes are much smaller and less destructive, but they come down and destroy one neighborhood and disappear quickly. They are faster and more random, but still kill. Yours are massive, but you can often see them coming, as you've said. I wonder if that elicits a different fear-response pattern? I now live in the 'flatlands' and we can see weather patterns 20 miles away - something that is absolutely impossible in the mountains.

That's a great observation. We currently live along a minimum maintenance road with large trees that block our view to the west. It makes me apprehensive when a storm is brewing but therefore makes me pay closer attention to the weather apps and observing the sky. It mostly upsets me during great weather since it prohibits me from observing our beautiful sunsets.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

What's fascinating about this to me is the geographic differences. I am from Kentucky and the mountains preclude our ability to examine far flung sky scapes. Our tornadoes are much smaller and less destructive, but they come down and destroy one neighborhood and disappear quickly. They are faster and more random, but still kill. Yours are massive, but you can often see them coming, as you've said. I wonder if that elicits a different fear-response pattern? I now live in the 'flatlands' and we can see weather patterns 20 miles away - something that is absolutely impossible in the mountains.

Here in Alabama and the adjoining states tornadoes are very different from out west. It’s almost impossible to see one we have a lot of hills and forests plus most of ours happen at night and are rain wrapped. We get fewer than the plains but they tend to be more violent. We get almost as many EF4 and EF5 tornadoes as Texas despite being only 1/5 the size. I haven’t had any nightmares about them in several years. I did get them for awhile after the April 27th outbreak.

 

[saysfaa]

I've lived in tornado country my entire (longish) life. The only time I have been afraid is when we had guests from another country. They did NOT understand the need to move fast to the basement when that is prudent... as in, after you've moved too slowly for too long. And they didn't speak English well enough for me to explain very well. My family has never had to move fast because we know when to keep an eye on it and when to watch more closely and when to start changing behavior a little (heading home or inside) or changing behavior a lot (turning off stoves, moving the babies and toddlers into the safer areas, when to move to the safest but less comfortable areas, and so on).
Yes, the odds of getting hit are very, very, very small, even with many and big tornados around in a given storm.

Thing I missed the longest, prep-wise is to keep a sturdy pair of shoes on in your shelter. I usually thought about keeping the kids as safe and as comfortable as possible while waiting out a storm and for losing electricity or water for a couple of days after, and a first aid kit, and of what to take if we left. But didn't think about the broken glass I would have to walk across to move away from our safest place.

 

[LizzzyJo]

Here in Alabama and the adjoining states tornadoes are very different from out west. It’s almost impossible to see one we have a lot of hills and forests plus most of ours happen at night and are rain wrapped. We get fewer than the plains but they tend to be more violent. We get almost as many EF4 and EF5 tornadoes as Texas despite being only 1/5 the size. I haven’t had any nightmares about them in several years. I did get them for awhile after the April 27th outbreak.

Yes - I agree. I have family in Alabama. Are you talking about the 2011 outbreak? The one with the F5 that SUCKED PEOPLE OUT OF BASEMENTS? I remember that. I would have had nightmares too.