"It feels like a tornado day. Better clear out the cellar."

I heard these words spoken by my mother many times.

Growing up on the edge of Tornado Alley, the place on earth with the highest concentration of massive, deadly tornadoes, means growing up on the edge of your seat and always being weather aware.

My childhood was very low-tech and the town I grew up in was small. Smaller than small, actually. Maybe only about 300 people, total. We lived in an area that was just out of the reach many network affiliated news stations, and definitely no Weather Channel for us.

This meant we had to recognize the signs of a tornado without the help of community storm sirens or sometimes even a weather man on TV. We depended on nature to give us clues.

Some days you can feel the storm coming all day long. The wind shifts direction with every gust and the gusts fluctuate in temperature. Animals are a bit on edge, and sometimes people, too.

Unfortunately, some tornadic events simply aren't survivable. However, being informed and prepared increases your chances dramatically.

^{Full video "Man Records Tornado That Destroys His Home/Kills Wife - 4/9/15}

1. Stock your shelter and create a family emergency plan.

Sometimes, meteorologists can see a tornado outbreak coming many days in advance. Do not ignore these warnings.

Gather extra extra pillows or a mattress, a change of clothing and close-toed sneakers for everyone in the family, the kids' bicycle helmets for head protection, extra pillows, and charged cell phones. A hand axe and chain saw will be helpful for busting through debris after the storm, but be mindful of how you store these until you need them.
You should also have a standard emergency kit that includes flashlights/batteries, first aid/medications, bottled water/non-perishable food, Pet food, copies of your keys, emergency cash, etc.

2. Do not open the windows in your house. You're only wasting time to seek shelter.

The old way of thinking was that opening doors and windows would allow the air to pass through and prevent windows from shattering. However, the same concept applies here as a highway over pass. Wind speeds will pick up inside your home and lift the roof right off.

Windows on your home can implode, and they probably will. This is usually some of the first damage done by a strong tornado upon arrival. If you must stay above groud, your safest option is to keep windows closed and create a barrier between you and any glass that might start to fly. Find an interior room (the smaller, the better), get down to floor level, and cover yourself.

Sometimes a little creative thinking will save your life:

Child Survives Tornado Above Ground By Hiding In Clothes Dryer

3. Tornadoes don't stand still. Run, stupid!!

If the tornado looks like it's standing still, it's probably headed right toward you. (Or away from you. But probably toward you.) Since they form along the front wall cloud of a storm, a stationary tornado is a very rare occurance, though they do happen.

Video of That Time a Tornado Stood Still
Example of tornado that will move past you:

Example of tornado that is coming right at you:
(

)

4. When you really CAN run, but you can't hide:

If stuck in your car with tornado approaching, and you think you have enough time to make a run for it, move at a right angle away from the tornado. In the US plains, Mecca for severe storm lovers, most tornadoes move to the north east. Move south to avoid danger. This is a general rule used by US storm chasers. However, this did not fair well during the El Reno, Oklahoma tornado, a storm that broke all the rules and claimed this lives of 3 storm chasers. I'm a firm believer in out running a tornado only if you are positive you will be successful. Seeking shelter under ground is the proven best option for survival.

There is great debate among weather experts about whether or not you should leave your vehicle if stuck in your car with a tornado approaching.
If out running the tornado is not an option, and there is no sturdy structure in sight, Try to get yourself lower than the roadway. Some say the safest option is to leave your vehicle, lay flat in a ditch, and cover your head. Vehicles easily get tumbled like rocks in a stream.
However, many people have survived in their vehicles by leaving the roadway and parking in a drainage ditch on the side of the road opposite from the way the tornado is approaching. Watch out for trees. Get as low in your seat as possible, put on your seatbelt, and find something to cover your body. Be on the lookout for flash flooding.

Here, The Weather Channel tell us to hide in a ditch:

Here, The Weather Channel tells us to stay in our cars:

5. Whatever you do, DO NOT hide under an over pass on the freeway, in a tunnel, or a car wash.

YOU. WILL. GET. SUCKED. OUT.
Into a spirally, muddy, painful death.
In this scenario, the structure around you will act as a wind tunnel and the wind speeds inside the structure will become significantly higher.

6. It is almost impossible to survive a high-level EF 5 tornado above ground.

In this kind of tornado, grass can stick into trees like needles, wood planks can penetrate brick.

^{(Yes, that is a semi truck wrapped around a tree.)}

^{image source}

^{image source}

The path of an EF 5 leaves apocalyptic scale damage behind. It pulls the pavement up and destroys roads, cleans houses right off of their foundations, rips up manhole covers.

Below is some of the devastation I captured myself shortly after the EF5 Joplin tornado of 2011 while delivering gathered supplies to friends who had lost nearly everything.

7. Even basements have their risks.

The entire house can collapse on top of you, get wiped clean from the foundation, or worse, catch on fire with you trapped inside. Your safest basement option is to huddle near an interior or underground wall and cover yourself with a mattress.

....And if all of this tornado talk wasn't scary enough, I leave you with...

FIRE TORNADO!!

This post was authored by @jazzyfish.

To learn more about the #wwtop5pix initiative, PLEASE CLICK HERE.