Where do you go when severe weather alerts are issued?

travel

Member
We are starting our first trip across the country next week and keep noticing severe weather alerts in the part of the country we are going to pass through - which made me start wondering what you do or where do you go if you are traveling and know that tornado alerts or warnings are being issued where you are traveling.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
When checking into RV Parks, ask where the shelters are located.

Good idea to have the Red Cross Tornado App on your phone. It should alert with a siren if a tornado warning is issued for your current location.
 

simsfmly

Ohio Chapter Leaders-retired
Only bailed from the rig twice in 5 years. Once in Topeka, KS all of us (dogs included) went to the approved shelter on site. Last time was this past spring NE of Denton, TX. Park didn't have a shelter. Could see by radar and eyesight that the storm was moving NE, but north of us. Got everyone in the truck and drove hard SW. Went to a shopping center (where there was a PetsMart) and watched the storm pass through.

Like the app that Dan was talking about. Been a couple of times its gone off well after midnight. Woke us up, but at that point, what are we going to do? Pouring down rain, rig is rocking from the wind. Going to be over in 10 minutes. Just have to ride it out and hope this isn't "the one".
 

Jim.Allison

Well-known member
I dont know if this helps, but my 2013 RAM has a weather map app on the dash board. It is really detailed. I refer to it often when threatened by weather.
 

MCTalley

Well-known member
We have this weather radio we won as a door prize at a rally. I set it up any time we think there might be some weather at our location. We've headed to the campground's shelter a couple times based on tornado warnings issued in the area. I look up what county we are in (some campgrounds put this on their information sheet they give you at check-in - good for them), then look up the NOAA weather location code on their website. I enter that code into the radio and put it on standby. We get warnings as soon as they are issued by the weather service.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
I also use the Storm app on the iPad. It provides extremely detailed information on storm vectors, speed, winds, hail size, and much more.
 

JJC

retired Tennessee Chapter Leaders
We've found the Storm Shield app to be the most dependable in our travels.
 

Nabo

Southeast Region Director-Retired
We have the Weather Channel app and the Red Cross app that have both warned us in times of bad weather. The WC app warned 1st followed then by the RC app.
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
We have an app called "Weather Radio". The paid version lets you "pin" locations on a map, and you can specify what NOAA watches and warnings you want to be alerted about. It also "follows" you, to alert you wherever you are. This is very handy when traveling!! It will also sound a warning for severe weather, and yes it will wake you up!

Staying in our rig as housing, we've left a few times due to tornado warnings this year, since our park did not have a good storm shelter. Not ideal... But in those cases we had plenty of warning.

One time, during a tornado warning, we did not have enough warning and just headed to our park office. Rotation was reported in the storm, so we feared a tornado could develop at any time. You don't want to be in an RV for that. There were not very many taking shelter there ,and at least we were inside a sticks and bricks vs the trailer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

porthole

Retired
Goshen 2013 - severe weather and everyone headed to the shelter.
Since it was a rally, everyone there knew each other for the most part, so bringing two dogs and a cat was a non issue.
Don't know how that would work out with 200 non friends.

Coming home from Goshen this year were dodging severe weather with tornado warnings through Ohio. We bumped the speed up a bit and managed to stay right at the leading edge for a couple of hours. getting soaked, but thunderbolts behind us.
Once we got into PA we headed south to the turnpike and avoided the weather for the rest of the ride home. The storms all stayed along the RT 80 corridor, as they did on the way out to Goshen.
We got home to the Jersey Shore about an hour before al **** broke loose in south-west Jersey.

When traveling on the bike for one of my extended trips, I turn on the doppler radar subscription for my Garmin GPS. At $28 a month it is pricey. But it gives me the ability to stop and put on rain gear before I get wet, change course or run and hide.
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
Luckily my truck has weather radar and helps us keep a weather eye out. I also have a couple of free weather apps (one is weather bug) on the cellphone which gives us weather updates and warnings as well as radar. When at an RV park we will ask where the storm shelter is. Usually it is one or all of the bathrooms.
 
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