Police: Be Ready for Tornadoes This Spring

From the Wheaton Police Department:

Tornados are violent, rotating storms with winds that can exceed 300 miles per hour. Nearly 1,000 tornados touchdown in the United States every year.

Know what to do to prepare for a tornado:

• Be alert to weather conditions - Designate a shelter area in your home, such as the basement, storm cellar or the lowest building level avail- able and go to center of an interior room, away from walls
• Know the danger signs of a tornado: - Dark, often greenish sky - Large hail - Large, dark, low-ling clouds (particular- ly if rotating)
• Large roar, similar to that of a freight train

Tornado "Watch" vs. Tornado "Warning"

Tornado Watch: Severe thunderstorms or tornados are possible in the area. Stay tuned to radio or TV and watch the sky.

Tornado Warning: Severe weather has been reported by spotters or indicated by radar. Warnings indicate imminent danger to life and property to those in the path of the storm.

What to do during a tornado watch:

• Stay tuned to radio or TV for updates 
• Watch for danger signs of a tornado 
• If you see approaching storms or any danger signs, be prepared to take shelter at any time; some tornadoes advance so quickly that advance warning is not possible.
• Stay out of large, flat buildings with wide-open areas such as supermarkets or shopping malls
• Stock your home shelter area with a flashlight, a battery- powered radio, extra batteries, water and a first aid kit

What to do during a tornado warning:

• If you are under a tornado WARNING, seek shelter immediately
• Go to your designated shelter area
• If in any structure, head to the basement. If there is no basement head to the lowest building level, go to the center of the room away from windows, corners walls, and outside walls 
• Get under a sturdy table and use your arms to protect head and neck. 
• Do not open windows
• If you are in a vehicle, trailer, or mobile home, get out immediately and seek shelter in a nearby building 
• If outside with no shelter, lie flat in a nearby ditch or depression and cover your head and neck with your hands. Do not get under and overpass or bridge
• Watch out for flying debris

When are tornado sirens activated in Wheaton?

1. When requested by an official

2. Observed by trained weather spotters and confirmed by Police Officer

3. Tornado warning or damaging storm heading toward City based on National Weather Service reports

Note: Tornado sirens are tested in Wheaton the first Tuesday of every month at 10 a.m.