Step up your severe weather safety
Published on February 20, 2025
Severe Weather Preparedness Week (March 3–7, 2025) is a time to plan for how you'd handle an emergency at home or work. But what if you were in your car or at a baseball game? As we approach tornado season, brush up on severe weather basics and put some thought into how you could prepare for weather emergencies away from home.
For any hazard:
- Always have multiple ways of receiving emergency alerts. Sign up for local alerts at NotifyJoCo.org.
- Be aware of the weather forecast and plan ahead.
- Have an emergency kit in your shelter and car.
If you need to find shelter outdoors, wait inside a sturdy building — not a small shed, picnic shelter or dugout. If the building has electricity or plumbing, that’s a good sign it’s a safe place to shelter. If you’re outside and there are no sturdy buildings to shelter in, the safest place to be is inside your car.
Wind and hail
Did you know straight-line winds can be as deadly as tornadoes? They’re also much more common. In a severe thunderstorm, wait it out in the areas you would shelter in from a tornado. Stay on the lowest floor of the building, away from windows.
Campers and boaters should pay special attention to severe weather risks. Take a portable weather radio with you in case your mobile device doesn’t have service or loses power. High winds can capsize boats and knock trees onto campsites. Check the forecast before you leave, and make a plan to reach a sturdy shelter. Tents and picnic shelters are not safe places in a storm.
Tornadoes
There will be a statewide tornado drill on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, at 11 a.m. Treat the drill as if it’s an active tornado warning and practice sheltering in place.
In a tornado, you should shelter in a designated storm shelter, a small interior windowless room on the lowest level of the building or in a basement. Try to put furniture and blankets around and on top of you to protect yourself from debris, and cover your head and neck with your arms.
According to Ready.gov: “There is no safe option when caught in a tornado in a car, just slightly less-dangerous ones.” If you can see the tornado, it’s far away and traffic is light, they suggest trying to drive out of its path by moving at right angles to the tornado.
If you can’t escape, park the car quickly and safely out of traffic. Don’t shelter under a bridge — This can cause deadly traffic hazards. Stay in the car with your seat belt on and put your head below the windows. Try to cover your head with your hands, a blanket, coat or cushion. The car must be on for the airbags to deploy.
If you can get significantly lower than the road, like in a deep ditch, lie in that area and cover your head with your hands.
Lightning
If the sky looks threatening, or you hear thunder, don’t delay — go indoors! Don’t wait until it starts raining or you see lightning. The threat of lightning casualties is highest before the storm is overhead.
Once you’re inside, stay away from anything that’s plugged into the wall, plumbing, doors and windows.
After you hear the last rumble of thunder, it’s a good idea to wait 30 minutes before going outside again.
Did you know that about two-thirds of lightning deaths are associated with outdoor recreational activities? Lightning can cause both fatalities and lifelong disabilities.
The National Weather Service reports that lighting injuries are increasing in school-sponsored sports. Make sure the safety of your participants is the top priority, and have a plan in place to safely stop the activity, shelter, resume the activity and communicate with participants. The National Weather Service suggests that you have a designated person monitoring for lightning who is not the coach, umpire or referee. These people will be preoccupied by the game.
Flooding
Flash floods can develop quickly. Never try to walk, swim or drive through floodwaters. Over half of all flood-related deaths occur in vehicles. Just one foot of water will carry a car. Think about alternate routes you could take if your regular routes are flooded.
Knowing your flood risk at home and planning accordingly is important. Most homeowners insurance doesn’t cover flood damage. Make sure you have the coverage you need. Flood insurance is also available for renters.
If your property is located in a floodplain, any work requires a permit from Lenexa's Community Development Department.
At your request, the City of Lenexa can provide you with helpful information including:
- Whether a property is in or out of a Flood Hazard Area as shown on the current Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for Johnson County. Staff can help identify whether a property is in the floodway or near an area where problems aren’t shown on the FIRM.
- Additional flood insurance data for a specific site, like whether a property is in or near an area of historic flooding and/or natural functions floodplain. We can provide specific details like the FIRM zone and base flood elevation or depth if shown on the map.
- A flyer on the flood insurance purchase requirement for people who need a mortgage or loan for a property in the Flood Hazard Area. Flood insurance is required for federally backed loans.
If you have specific questions, contact Stormwater Engineer Tom Jacobs at tjacobs@lenexa.com. Floodsmart.gov is an excellent resource for flood preparedness.
Become a storm spotter
The National Weather Service (NWS) Kansas City is offering several opportunities this spring to become a registered SKYWARN spotter. These volunteers provide timely, accurate severe weather reports to the NWS. These reports help the NWS issue more timely, accurate warnings and give people more time to protect themselves before a severe storm.
Free training sessions typically last about two hours. They cover thunderstorm development and structure, weather safety, how to identify potential severe weather features, and how to collect and report information. You can sign up for an online class, in-person training or live virtual training.