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What do you do when your area goes under a severe weather watch or warning? Do you keep the TV or radio on? We don't live in an area where tornadoes are common, but we do get severe thunderstorms in the summer. Of course today we're under a tornado watch. I've got one TV on to the news station in my bedroom and the weather channel open on the computer to keep an eye on the radar. My basement is not licensed for daycare, so it's not like we can just go hang out there until closing.
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I always keep an eye on things if it is bad out. Even if you are not supposed to be down there I would have things ready and to keep the kids safe I would head down there if I was nervous I don't think the parents will mind that you are keeping there children safe. I would keep the computer on or tv to. -
Watch...I just keep an eye on things, mostly. For a tornado watch, it depends on the weather. Often if we're under a tornado watch we will NOT go outside even under clear blue sunny skies. Severe thunderstorm watch I blow off for the most part.
Warnings--I don't exactly believe in taking shelter, per se, for just a severe thunderstorm. Tornado warning in my county I check the news to see where the bad part of the storm is (there's an awesome station here with a good live radar, much better than the weather channel) and where it's heading. Oftentimes the dangerous part is far to the south of where we are and so I don't freak the kids out by going to our tornado-safe zone (which isn't that great....my house is NOT set up to take shelter from a tornado. Even the bathrooms and laundry room have windows). only once have we actually needed to take shelter from a tornado warning.Hee hee! Look, I have a signature!Comment
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We are in the basement most of the day if it looks bad out I put on the t.v. and check things outComment
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So it was sunny out until DCB left. As soon as DCM arrived the thunder started.
And we have confirmed tornadoes on the ground 70-50 miles west marching this way. Feeding the kids and headed to the basement. Wish we had a tv down there so we can get updates. No place is safe tho since it's an open room with windows on all 4 sides.Comment
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I'm in Central MA, too and it's been a crazy day for weather. My last kid left at 3:45 so I didn't have to worry about it during day care hours but I would do the same things you mentioned above. Keep an eye and ear on the tv for warnings. Don't worry about the basement not being licensed. If the weather situation warrants it, go down there until you and the kids are safe.
I hope you're doing okay. There are areas like Springfield that have had some real damage done and there are still warnings being broadcast. I have a feeling it's going to be a long summer!
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Thankfully we were spared most of the storms last night. We were up and down to the basement a few times. Areas west of here had major damage.
E.J. hope you guys are alright! I think it's going to be a crazy summer too. I think I'll be readying the basement just in case. We have a semi finished area but it's filled with junk.Comment
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We're all set. I'm glad you came through it ok, too.
Our cellar isn't finished and it's filled with boxes and junk, too, but after seeing some of the damage done in yesterday's storms, I figure I'd rather be down there during a tornado than upstairs in the main house. The damage I'm seeing on the news makes the ice storm of a few years ago seem like a cake walk!Comment
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We're north of Worcester and got hit very hard by that ice storm. Our house is surrounded by fields so we were lucky. We only had one tree fall in the backyard. We didn't have trees falling on us and since our house is set back from the road, we didn't have telephone poles and wires on the house either. Just down the road going in either direction, though, it looked like a war zone. I've never seen anything like it and hope I never do again. We were without heat/electricity for 8 days and the temps were in the single digits, so I had to close the day care for that long, too. Our cellar had flooded because the automatic sump pump couldn't run without electricity. Everything we had just stocked up on - paper towels, tissues, bathroom tissue, paper, etc were lost. We also lost all the food in our fridge and spare freezer which was quite a bit because we had also been stocking up during sales. We were bailing the cellar out by hand until we could finally borrow a generator from the fire dept. That first night after the storm, we drove through Worcester on our way to RI and CT to look for a generator and we were stunned at how just a few miles made such a difference. We had been driving on ice-encrusted roads, dodging downed power lines and trees and then after a bit, the roads were clear and everyone was moving about as though nothing unusual had happened.
I feel like such a wimp for ever complaining about our experience, though, given the number of people who totally lost their homes or lives last night and out in the mid-west. Such devestation in such a short amount of time! I don't know how people who live in "tornado alley" can do it. I'd be a nervous wreck every time a storm blew through!Comment
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I"m in "Tornado Alley", so when it is a Tornado Watch, I keep the TV on a local channel all day. I have a central hallway that is rather large. All the doors stay shut anyway to keep the kids out of the bedrooms and bathroom.
While under a Watch, I gather my personal briefcase, with the laptop, ipod and camera. I also gather a box of toys and put them in the hallway. Depending on how many kids I have that day, I will pull a pak-n-play in the hall from the sleeping room.
If we go under a Warning, I then get the kids in the hall and pull the changing table to block the one end (so they have to stay in the hall). I leave the tv on and take the remote with me.
I also am on weather call 7, a local set up with Channel 7 that calls me directly if our immediate area (a few miles) goes under a warning.Comment
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