Tips, Facts to Prep for Summer Weather

Storm experts say that Americans experience more severe weather than in any other place in the world. 

Each year, on average, Americans deal with:

• 100,000 thunderstorms (10,000 are severe)
  
• 5,000 floods
• 1,000 tornadoes
• 2 deadly hurricanes that reach land

And, in the summer, intense heat helps create a recipe for disasters across many communities. Lightening alone kills 55-60 people each year.

Are you ready? Find below several resources, tips and facts from the National Weather Service for dealing with summer weather.

Excessive Heat:

• Take cool baths or showers.
• Stay hydrated – regularly drink water or other nonalcoholic fluids.
• Wear loose-fitting, light-colored clothes.
• Eat light, cool, easy-to-digest foods such as fruit or salads.
• Check on older, sick, or frail people who may need help.
• Do not leave children and pets alone in cars for any amount of time.
• Do not direct the flow of portable electric fans toward yourself when room. temperature is hotter than 90 degrees (air must circulate).
  

For these and other heat-related resources and tips, click here.

Thunderstorms:

• There is no safe place outside when a thunderstorm is nearby.
• Lightning fatalities are most common during summer afternoon and evening storms.
• Calculate the distance of a thunderstorm by counting the number of seconds between lightning and the sound of thunder, then divide that number by 5 to get the estimated distance.
• Have a plan for where you will go in severe weather, and know how long it will take you to get there. 
• If you hear thunder, do not use a corded phone. (Cordless phones and cell phones are better (not charging), as lightning can travel through phone lines and electrical sockets.)
• Obtain a weather radio, and be sure to have extra batteries.

• The safest place is an underground shelter, basement or safe room (one without windows, built to withstand tornadoes).
• Small windowless rooms located in the interior of a home are also good options.
• If you are caught outside and cannot find sturdy shelter fast, as a last resort, find a low-lying area (lower than surrounding roads, land, etc.) nearby, and lie flat.

• Ready.gov, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org/prepare