Surviving inclement weather

[Relee52]

I live in Oklahoma so am very "weather aware" as we call it around here. As we are readying to hit the road full time in about 12 months and have watched weather reports from various areas that we plan to visit, I am wondering "what did those folks in RVs do when tornadoes hit Florida?" Wind, flooding and fires are all events I've seen in areas we want to go. So, what do you intrepid RVers do to prepare for and, preferably avoid, the danger? I never hear "the local RV park was hit and all survived" but I do hear about trailer parks. Any discussion or advice?
As always, TIA!

 

[SeilerBird]

All RVs come equipped with wheels. When the weather report says tornado or hurricane it is time to move on.

 

[WILDEBILL308]

While it isn't always an option to move. Having a good weather app will help you know if you need to take shelter. If you are in a unfamiliar area you can use Maps to see where you are in relation to the reported storms.
Bill

 

[Stephen S.]

And as always, keep your insurance up!

Weather related damage could be the fates telling you it's time to upgrade. ;D

 

[jc2]

I live in Oklahoma so am very "weather aware" as we call it around here. As we are readying to hit the road full time in about 12 months and have watched weather reports from various areas that we plan to visit, I am wondering "what did those folks in RVs do when tornadoes hit Florida?" Wind, flooding and fires are all events I've seen in areas we want to go. So, what do you intrepid RVers do to prepare for and, preferably avoid, the danger? I never hear "the local RV park was hit and all survived" but I do hear about trailer parks. Any discussion or advice?
As always, TIA!

If you don't already have one, I would invest in a good ac powered weather radio that also has batteries for backup.  There are a number of good ones listed on Amazon that we have been looking at.

 

[denmarc]

If you don't already have one, I would invest in a good ac powered weather radio that also has batteries for backup.  There are a number of good ones listed on Amazon that we have been looking at.

A good idea. And may I take it one step further...
I did a bit of checking into this a while back. My research brought me to the C. Crane Company. They offer quality radios that are AC/battery/wind up/solar in different combinations. I have one in the stick house and the TT. They work great.

If you wish to check them out...

http://www.ccrane.com/

 

[driftless shifter]

Don't forget hail. Hail can make quick work of destroying an RV. People that park long term in hail prone areas build little frames covered with hardware mesh over skylights, vents, and AC's. Home base's have RV ports built. We ask about storm shelters when checking into RV parks and call it good.

Bill

 

[johnhicks]

  Well, you know that the classic Tornado Alley starts up in Texas in mid-April and the activity moves north-northeastward through early summer and Dixie Alley usually runs March through April. Although of course tornados can occur anywhere anytime the frequency is usually seasonal so the obvious thing to do is avoid those areas when appropriate. This is an anomalous year so far.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_Alley#/media/File:Tornado_Alley_Diagram.svg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixie_Alley#/media/FileixieAlleymap.png

  As for Florida (and including coastal Georgia and the Carolinas) we don't get those long-track EF-5 monsters that routinely eat cities in Mississippi and Alabama; there's really not a whole lot of likelihood of getting caught in one.

  So I'm in east-central Texas right now and I won't head northward and eastward until around June 1; I'd rather let the tornado seasons wind down than worry about it.

  Strong straight-line winds can occur in any big thunderstorm anywhere, as can hail, but big hail is fairly seasonal with the tornado seasons.

  Hurricanes are of course different; you'll have plenty of warning and the thing to do is drive inland maybe 100 miles.

  You should get a weather radio that can be programmed to alert to the SAME settings http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/coverage/station_listing.html so you can set it up when you're in the same place for a while. When traveling you'll need to find a station and be aware where you are. Also I believe Weather Underground can push alerts to smartphones. On the computer there's forecast.weather.gov and wunderground.com .

  When you get a CG find the storm shelter (if any) or a solid building so you'll know where to go if heavy weather is coming your way.

 

[ArdraF]

In addition to a weather alert radio, also use your crank-up TV antenna to watch local stations when parked.  They're usually pretty good about keeping people informed.  They often talk about counties by name and when you're in a strange area you may not know the county in which you're located or the surrounding ones.  This is where the Good Sam Campground directory comes in handy.  Each campground is listed by state and town.  Next to the town's name is the name of the county in which it's located.  Once you see your county location on the weather maps you can find the surrounding county names.  Another county name resource is Wikipedia.  Search on the town and state which usually brings up Wikipedia and then click on the map.  They often have a section on adjacent counties.

We've seldom been told about severe weather when checking into a campground so I always look around to see where we can take shelter if it gets bad.  I've also never heard a weather siren so I hope they're up and running!

ArdraF

 

[WILDEBILL308]

In addition to a weather alert radio, also use your crank-up TV antenna to watch local stations when parked.  They're usually pretty good about keeping people informed.  They often talk about counties by name and when you're in a strange area you may not know the county in which you're located or the surrounding ones.  This is where the Good Sam Campground directory comes in handy.  Each campground is listed by state and town.  Next to the town's name is the name of the county in which it's located.  Once you see your county location on the weather maps you can find the surrounding county names.  Another county name resource is Wikipedia.  Search on the town and state which usually brings up Wikipedia and then click on the map.  They often have a section on adjacent counties.

We've seldom been told about severe weather when checking into a campground so I always look around to see where we can take shelter if it gets bad.  I've also never heard a weather siren so I hope they're up and running!

ArdraF

That is what I was talking about using Google Maps to see where you are and you can type the name of a county or town or other land mark they talk about on the weather radio. This allows you to see where you are in relation to say a tornado touching down. Just touch the symbol that shows where you are.
Bill

 

[Daffy]

Best way to keep informed is by the local weather watchers. Shouldn't be too hard to find the local 2 way radio frequencies they use and obtain a portable scanner to monitor them during inclement weather.

I live in the boondocks, there are no weather sirens out here. I know when they are going to set them off in towns nearby before they do. County sheriffs around here at least, are part of the system of watching and reporting weather hazards.

Having a map and knowing where you are on it doesn't hurt either.

 

[JudyJB]

I have been in campgrounds twice when there were tornado warnings.  Both times we headed for the concrete bath houses.  Once, at 2:00 am I saw flashing lights outdoors and got a knock on my door from the police.  Got dressed and ran to bathhouse in raincoat with flashlight.  Not fun in middle of the night, but we were safe and tornado did not pass through campground.

However, wind alone can be a serious danger.  After having to get up once in the middle of the night, I never leave my awning up overnight.  I have seen the results of torn-off awnings, and getting up to put my manual awning in was no fun, so I never take chances.

Also, you need to be aware of wind when you are planning on driving somewhere.  Southwest Texas always seems to be where I get caught.  I do not drive if it is over 20 MPH.

Also got caught in a dust storm once in southern Colorado.  Big black cloud approached, so I found some buildings in a small town to huddle behind.  Had dust in almost every basement bin afterwards, however.

 

[Foto-n-T]

My wife and I have been RVing since 2004 and have traveled from beach to beach across the south looking for "that" spot where we could winter.  As it turns out Texas wound up being our favorite even though those pesky tornadoes tend to get your pulse rate up once in a while.  Twice we've evacuated due to tornadoes and both times the rig got left behind in hopes that we'd be able to find pieces of it when we returned.  Both times were a miss but the possibility always remains that you or I could return to find an empty RV space with a 50 amp cord leading to nothing.  So what's a person to do???

First off with the advent of Smart Phones there are numerous weather apps out there which can provide real time updates and warnings.  The one that I've found the most useful is called Radar Now and is simply a raw weather radar app with no frills which loads even with minimal data signal.  This app will give you an idea of whether or not you're about to get your clock cleaned and the premium version does include some warning settings if you prefer to use them.  A phone app combined with local weather radio or television should give you enough warning to beat feet out of the affected area in case of tornado but what about your stuff??

Stuff of course is insurable.  Given that most of us tend to anchor our rigs down with essentials like electricity, sewer and television it isn't usually feasible to take all your "stuff" with you when you un-occupy an area.  What you can do is keep all essential paperwork in a briefcase or such and all valuable jewelry etc. in one of those fire proof lock boxes.  If you're like me and have an addiction to firearms and tend to take too many to cart around in an evacuation make sure that you've recorded all the serial numbers and that your insurance knows about those which you might have paid too much for.  Also you want to make sure that you know the avenues of egress that are available to you for example; Texas has those wonderful "feeder roads", keep in mind that the way you'd like to leave might lead you towards the weather event you're trying to avoid before you can get under the freeway and reverse course. 

Essentially put yourself together a "Go Bag" that has the ability to sustain you for at least a few days should you come back to find just your 50 amp cord.  I can tell you from experience that the first time you have to get out in a hurry is no time to be trying to find your passports, underwear and toothbrushes. 

 

[johnhicks]

  One thing to do, which I rarely see, is if you have a trailer/5er and you're going to be on the same lot long-term is to tie it down like you'd do with a mobile home. It doesn't take a lot of wind to overturn a trailer. Just an auger anchor and length of chain at each end would help. Of course this depends on the park etc.

 

[Relee52]

Thanks to all for the replies. While all of our rigs have wheels and we could move given enough warning, we've sadly seen the effects of quick storms this week and the devastation and loss of life at an RV park. So this is a timely discussion. The weather radio and smartphone apps are great suggestions, and identifying the CG storm shelter too, hadn't thought of that one. I will definitely be checking that out and the proximity of the bathhouse and keep my weather radio fully charged.
Stay safe out there!