What you do before and during a tornado could mean the difference between life and death

ATLANTA — With new innovations and technology, scientists have learned from major tornado outbreaks over the years how to improve safety guidance. About 1,200 tornadoes strike the U.S. every year, and each year violent twisters happen outside these traditional “alleys” of tornado outbreaks, according to the National Severe Storms Laboratory. Weather radios, specialized receivers that get alerts and can sound an alarm in an emergency, are something that every home and business should have, said Rick Smith, the warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s forecast office in Norman, Oklahoma. That’s the opposite of a commonly held misconception: “There’s still a chunk of people out there who think you’re supposed to open the doors and windows to equalize the pressure,” Smith said. If you are in a car or truck, “you really don’t have a lot of good options at that point,” Smith said.