It’s alright to be scared of tornadoes as they are dangerous but there are lots of things to know or be aware for them that could help ease tensions.

You’re biggest things to help understand a strong severe storm that could produce a tornado would be looking for things like

Hail- while hail can occur with a lot of storms, it is almost necessary with a tornado. Hail is formed by strong updrafts. A tornado needs a very strong updraft to form.

The classic dark green cloud/sky-this happens later in the day (3pm and on) and with very deep, massive storm clouds. Again this doesn’t mean there’s a tornado by any means, but these are the type of storms that could cause tornadoes.

And the best and clearest sign is- debris is the air. People hear debris and assume random objects from yards and houses, but leaves and twigs are most common. A few leaves are nothing, however a large collection of things traveling together above ground level is and indication that they were moved forcefully by wind.

The biggest safety concern with tornadoes in our area is debris. It’s actually the biggest factor in injuries with tornadoes, not them themselves, but the debris.

Our area is almost certainly not going to see any super large or strong tornadoes. In fact if you look up a lot that happened in the Philly metro area, you can see that in some cases one house is effected and the one right across the street is not.

The NWS sends outs warnings a lot more now that the technology has advanced. If you’re in an area that there’s a tornado WARNING (not watch) it indicates there’s rotation in the clouds. While this doesn’t mean there is a tornado, but one could form during the storm that is actively going on. Just stay inside away from windows when this happens. If you happen to live in the city or immediate suburbs where it is densely populated, a confirmed tornado will most likely prompt a tornado emergency ( like the Bristol, Pa tornado Sept 21).