Severe Weather: How to Stay Safe in an RV During a Tornado Warning

RV Tornado Safety Tips from Real Life Experience

Weather can be unpredictable and may change when least expected. During a recent encounter with severe weather in our RV, we compiled a list of DOs and DON’Ts from our personal experience.

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DO: Take a Severe Weather Watch or Warning Seriously.

Two nights before the severe weather event, we were under a Severe Thunderstorm watch. It brought plenty of lightning and thunder, but it seemed insignificant. Therefore, when another Severe Thunderstorm watch was issued, I wasn’t overly concerned. It was late, we had a busy day, the children were asleep, and I was longing for a shower. The weather channel predicted the storm to hit in about 30 minutes, leaving me to ponder whether to shower immediately or postpone it until the next day. In the end, I decided to take a quick shower before the storm arrived.

DON’T: Take a Shower During a Lightning Storm

As I made my way to the shower house, lightning flashed in the distance, a clear sign that proceeding was unwise. According to the CDC, “Lightning can travel through plumbing. It is best to avoid all water during a thunderstorm.” Aware of the risks, I still thought I could shower quickly and return to the RV before the storm hit. Regrettably, things did not go as planned.

DO: Take Shelter in Severe Weather!

The Taco Analogy

As I stepped into the shower, the area was under a severe thunderstorm watch. Sure, the weather might turn severe, but it was only a watch, not a warning. Mid-shower, lathered in soap, the tornado siren blared. I had hoped to finish before the lightning, but now a tornado loomed outside. What were once just ingredients had become a full-blown TACO!

I quickly rinsed off and began to hurriedly dress. I already in the storm shelter, yet my husband and children were in the RV. Clad in still-wet clothes, I tried calling my husband multiple times to no avail. He often watches movies with noise-cancelling headphones, which added to my panic about him missing the siren’s warning. Darkness enveloped us, a tornado loomed, and my family was apart from me. Exiting the shelter, ready to dash to the RV, relief washed over me as I spotted my son, followed by my husband carrying our daughter in the pouring rain. My son had been alert when the siren sounded, but my daughter was deep in sleep, oblivious to the chaos.

DON’T: Panic

It’s easier said than done, but panicking often exacerbates the situation. The campground’s comfort station featured bathrooms on one side and individual showers across the hall. The bathrooms were spacious but included windows. As I was already in a shower room, my family joined me there. We locked the door, and my husband braced it shut as the air pressure shifted. It was reminiscent of the opening scene in the movie ‘Twister.’ I half-expected the door to be wrenched off its hinges at any moment.

During the Tornado Warning

My children were gathered in the far corner of the room. As my daughter grasped the gravity of the situation, she broke down in tears and screams, while my son tenderly attempted to soothe her, assuring her that everything would be alright. By the door, we could hear others arriving to find refuge. Remarkably, only about 20-30 individuals from the entire campground made their way to the shelter, some accompanied by their dogs. Regrettably, we had to leave our two cats behind; I was already at the shelter, and my husband couldn’t manage to carry both our sleeping daughter and the cats simultaneously.

As the wind intensified and the rain poured, the concrete corridor of the comfort station turned treacherous. Around four alarmed campers sprinted around a bend, slipped on the slick surface, and took a hard fall. They appeared unharmed but were likely to be quite sore the following day. A ranger present in the station informed us that a tornado had indeed made landfall approximately 8 miles from our camp. Our only option was to wait it out.

It was surprising to see such a few number of people who sought refuge and the many who stayed in their RVs. The campground hosted over a hundred individuals that night. Neither my husband nor I remember receiving a tornado warning on our phones. For those who remained in their RVs and missed the siren, the scenario could have been catastrophic.

Aftermath

I am not sure how long we huddled in the shower, frightened and waiting for the danger to subside. It might have been twenty minutes until the wail of the sirens ceased, and the ranger notified us that the tornado threat was over. Despite the ongoing rain and lightning, the ranger assured us it was safe to return to our RVs.

Later, we learned that the storm we experienced had spawned a total of seven tornadoes. The fifth tornado, classified as an EF1, made landfall eight miles from our location and traveled five miles over five minutes. Simultaneously, the sixth tornado touched down nineteen miles from us. A minute after the fifth and sixth, the seventh tornado struck seven miles away and also journeyed five miles. As we took refuge in the storm shelter, three tornadoes made landfall within a few miles of our location. (Timeline: 7 tornadoes whipped across Michigan in less than 3 hours).

The storm resulted in widespread power outages, damaged homes, uprooted trees, and the tragic loss of five lives across the state. Remarkably, we emerged unscathed. Despite three tornadoes touching down within a 20-mile radius of our campsite, we sustained no damage and our power remained intact. We were incredibly lucky given the circumstances and gained valuable insights, particularly the importance of heeding severe weather warnings.