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14548 Highway H
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Email: crawfordr@missouri.edu

Severe spring weather: What do you need to know to keep yourself safe on the farm?

Spring is just around the corner. Along with the green grass and new baby calves, spring often signals the beginning of severe weather. Whether you live on the farm or in town, you need to be prepared for thunderstorms, tornadoes and flash floods that many times accompany the arrival of warm weather here in the Ozarks.

As a farmer, you work in all kinds of weather. Here in Southwest Missouri, that weather often changes day to day, sometimes hour to hour. While you cannot avoid the elements altogether, you must know when to take cover and the type of precautions necessary to avoid serious injuries or death.

WEATHER TERMS

As a simple preparation for severe spring weather, review some basic weather terms. Severe weather watch indicates that conditions are right for severe weather to develop.

A watch is normally issued for several hours and is your cue to begin planning your actions, should the worst happen. Typical watches are: tornado watch, severe thunderstorm watch and flood watch.

A severe weather warning indicates that severe and dangerous weather is happening or about to happen. A warning is your cue to take immediate action and protect yourself and your belongings. Typical warnings are: tornado warning, severe thunderstorm warning, flash flood/flood warning, and in the summer excessive heat warnings.

PREPARING YOUR HOME

Are there things you can do to prepare your home for severe spring weather? Absolutely! Perhaps the most valuable thing you can do to prepare for severe spring weather is to check your homeowner and farm insurance policies to find out exactly what is covered in the case of weather-related damage. You do not want to be caught without proper coverage!

Another idea to help prepare your home includes removing dead tree branches from around your house. Also, keep your home’s gutters and downspouts clean and clear of debris. Another helpful tip is to check that your windows and doors are secure and in good repair. If the power goes off, unplug your home’s appliances such as TVs, computers, radios, microwaves and refrigerators to avoid damage from power surges.

TORNADOES

Tornadoes are not uncommon in our neck of the woods. Each year, between 600 and 1,400 tornadoes are reported in the United States. They result in as many as 400 deaths and more than 1,500 injuries.

Tornadoes are small, but violent storms that can pack up to 250 mph winds and travel 50 miles. One weather system can spawn multiple storms. As we know from experience this past winter, tornadoes can occur at any time of the year and at any time of the day or night.

What should you be looking for in the case of a tornado?

• Dark, often greenish sky.
• Large hail.
• Cloud that looks like a wall.
• Loud roar, similar to a freight train.

What should you do if you spot a tornado while you are out in an open field? Stop and get out of your tractor! Lie in a low area or ditch away from the tractor. Cover your head with your arms to protect yourself from flying debris. Whatever you do, do not try to outrun a tornado on your tractor. A tornado’s speed and direction are deceptive.

When planning ahead for severe spring weather events such a tornado, it is important to know which buildings can offer the best protection, i.e. a building with a basement or a building with a storm inner structure such as a barn. Stay away from the outside walls of the building.

THUNDERSTORMS

Compared to other storms, thunderstorms are small. They typically are only 30 miles wide and last an average of 30 minutes. Even though they are small, however, thunderstorms are more deadly than tornadoes. All thunderstorms produce lightning, which kills an average of 93 people every year. Some thunderstorms also produce heavy rain that leads to flash flooding, which also leads to fatalities and injuries.

Lightning is a dangerous component of thunderstorms. While most deaths by lightning happen outside, you can be injured from lightning while you are inside a house or building. Use caution when talking on the telephone, taking a shower or bath, or standing near a window or open door. The air near a lightning strike is heated to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which is hotter than the surface of the sun.

It’s important to note when talking about lightning that contrary to popular belief, lightning often strikes areas outside of heavy rain and may occur as far as 10 miles away from any rainfall.

What should you be looking for in the event of a thunderstorm?

• Increasing winds.
• Flashes of lightning.
• Sound of thunder.
• Static on your AM radio.

What should you do if a thunderstorm develops when you are in an open field? Find a low spot away from trees, fences and poles. Make sure the place you choose is not subject to flooding. If you are in the woods, take shelter under shorter trees. If you have no shelter, make yourself the shortest target by squatting low to the ground on the balls of your feet. Minimize contact with the ground, and place your hands on your knees with your head between them when your skin tingles or your hand stands on end. If you are in a tractor or other vehicle during an electrical storm, stay put! Vehicles often provide better protection than lying exposed in open fields.

A final word of caution in relation to thunderstorms. When a flash flood warning has been issued for your area, avoid low-lying areas, and do not drive over low-water bridges, small creeks, or roads that may be soft or partially washed out. It is better to spend the extra time to take other routes than to be caught in swiftly moving floodwaters.

For more information on severe spring weather and how it can affect you on the farm, contact Amanda Marney, agriculture preparedness specialist, University of Missouri Extension. She can be reached at (417) 669-4362 or marneya@missouri.edu. You can also find more information on the agriculture preparedness webpage. Go to http://www.aes.missouri.edu/swcenter and click on the Ag Preparedness link.

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