Tornado season is here; plan now, know what to do

Lately, the topic on many people's minds in Southeast Missouri has been earthquakes.

No sooner had reporter Katherine Webster written on April 1 about elevated potential for a quake in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, than a magnitude-4.0 temblor hit two miles southeast of nearby Steele, Missouri. Webster's report seemed almost prophetic.

As if earthquakes weren't enough to worry about, from now until June it's also prime time in the local region for tornadoes, flash flooding and other severe weather events. The late-March-to-June timeframe is typically when tornadoes spawn in the United States, according to various weather sources, and we are just about dead center in what's less than lovingly known as Tornado Alley.

Every year, 800 tornadoes are reported around the country, according to the University of Missouri Extension, and account for at least 80 deaths and 1,500 injuries, not to mention vast property damage.

The good news is January through March, as described by ustornadoes.com, was "as quiet as it gets" in terms of tornado activity, mainly because of a surplus of cold air. It seems those March snow dumps in the area were good for something. Of course, that doesn't account for the damaging tornadoes in Oklahoma and Arkansas on March 25.

But with spring, conditions are rapidly becoming warmer and wetter, with sometimes steep temperature fluctuations -- the perfect setting for severe thunderstorms, which are what form tornadoes and contribute to flash flooding.

The following are some safety tips from the extension service to keep in mind from now until the end of summer:

• Develop a plan for your family. This includes anticipating scenarios at home, work, school and when you're outdoors.
• Make sure you have a weather radio in good working order.
• If you don't have a storm shelter at home, work or school, learn which is the safest place to be during severe weather.
• Stay away from windows.
• Get out of automobiles.
• Never use a highway overpass as a shelter.

For more information and tips, visit extension.missouri.edu/p/EMW1019.