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Buffalo
County, Nebraska >
County Offices
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Emergency Manager
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Severe Weather
Severe storms
strike quickly! Thunderstorms can produce heavy rain, strong
winds, lightning, hail and tornadoes. You may need to respond
promptly to one of these threats posed by a storm in your
area.
The National Weather
Service, in cooperation with the broadcast media, BuffaloWatch
and the local spotter system, will provide you with the warnings
you need to quickly respond. If you listen to the media, you
will know when a storm is approaching your area and you will
know if you need to take protective action.
Watch or Warning
A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions
are right for the development of storms. Stay tuned to the
media for further advisories.
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning means a storm
is probable in the warned area and residents there should
be prepared to take cover.
Don’t wait until an emergency siren sounds to start
looking for flashlights and other things. Plan ahead. When
severe storms threaten, keep alert. Stay tuned to the media
for current information. Know where to find shelter. Pick
the safest spot. Make sure the entire family knows where to
go – at home, at work, in school, at the mal l- anywhere
they might be when the storms strike. Avoid traveling.
If you live in a mobile home, you should make sure the mobile
home is securely anchored. During storm warnings, you should
seek more secure cover and have a plan that includes abandoning
your mobile home.
Flash flooding
Floods kill more people on average than tornadoes and lightning
combined! Most flood deaths are due to flash floods. Flash
floods are often the result of heavy rains associated with
severe thunderstorms. You will not always have a warning that
these deadly, sudden floods are coming.
When a Flash Flood Watch is issued, be alert and be ready
to evacuate on a moment’s notice. When a Flash Flood
Warning is issued, or the moment you realize a flash flood
is imminent, act quickly to save yourself. You may only have
seconds.
Nearly half of all flash flood fatalities are auto related.
In your automobile, look out for flooding at highway dips,
bridges and low areas. Do not drive through flowing water.
A mere two feet of water will carry away most automobiles.
Lightning
Lightning kills between 75 and 100 people nationwide annually.
During thunderstorms, stay inside. If you are outdoors, an
automobile is a safe place to be. Indoors, keep away from
doors, windows, stoves, sinks, metal pipes or other conductors.
Disconnect electrical appliances such as TV’s, radios
and computers.
Outdoors, minimize your height but don’t lie flat. Do
not take shelter under a tree. Stay away from wire fences,
overhead power lines and other metallic conductors. Avoid
standing in small sheds in open areas.
Tornadoes
The most destructive and devastating product of a thunderstorm,
these violent “TWISTERS”, are
characterized by a twisting, funnel-shaped cloud, which forms
from the bottom of a wall cloud and touches the ground.
Tornadoes are often accompanied by lightning, heavy rain and
hail. In an average year, the United States reports 800 tornadoes
resulting in 80 deaths and 1,500 injuries.
While they can occur all year, they are most common during
the spring in the Great Plains, where they develop along “drylines,”
which separate very warm, moist air to the east from hot,
dry air to the west. Tornado-producing thunderstorms may form
as the dryline moves east during the afternoon hours.
Nebraska is in the middle of tornado alley and each year the
state averages 35 tornadoes.
Knowing tornado safety is your best hope for surviving. You
must have a PLAN.
Stay tuned to the media when the watches are sounded and be
prepared to seek shelter if a tornado warning is issued in
your area. The safest place to be when a tornado strikes is
in a basement under something sturdy like a workbench.
If your house doesn’t have a basement, seek shelter
in a small room in the middle of the house. A closet or bathroom
is best. The more walls between you and the approaching storm
the better.
Have a portable radio and flashlight handy to take with
you.
If you live in a mobile home, even those
with tiedowns, seek more permanent shelter. Go to a prearranged
shelter. Go to a friend’s house or a nearby structure
with a basement. As a last resort, go outside and lie flat
on the ground with your hands over your head and neck.
In an automobile, never try to outrun a
tornado. Tornadoes can toss cars, and even large trucks, around
like toys. Get out of your vehicle and seek a safe structure
or lie down in a low area with your hands covering the back
of your head and neck; keep alert for flash floods.
At Work or School, know the emergency shelter
plans. If no specific plans exist, go to an interior hallway
or small room on the building’s lowest level. Avoid
areas with glass and wide, freespan roofs.
In a store or shopping mall, if you can’t
get to a basement or designated shelter, go to the center
of the lowest level of the building. Avoid windows and lie
flat. Cover yourself with any handy object.
Most towns in Nebraska sound the sirens when tornado warnings
are issued or a funnel cloud is sighted. Some times there
are no warnings though. The best bet is to be aware of weather
conditions and be prepared to seek shelter.
A Tornado Watch is issued when conditions
are favorable for them to develop. Be prepared to take action.
A Tornado Warning is issued when radar indicates
a tornado, or if a funnel cloud has been sighted. Seek shelter
immediately
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