We know that it is the beginning of November and not to many people are thinking about severe weather, but we think now is the perfect time to advise people on what they can do to get their family ready for Oklahoma’s next storm season. Here is a list of things you can do to make sure that you are prepared for when tornado season begins (in just a few months from now I might add).
1. GET A STORM SHELTER!! If you haven’t got one already then this is the absolute first thing that you need to do. Storm shelters not only offer you a safe haven from severe weather, but they also offer you piece of mind. It’s is a very relaxing feeling to know that even if the tornado sirens are going off, that you have a place to take your family. If you live in the state of Oklahoma, it is extremely important that you have some type of tornado shelter at your home. If you don’t have a shelter, right now is the perfect time of the year to get one. Let everybody else focus on the holidays and wait until February or March to call and get on a waiting list. By that time, you will already have yours installed and for quite a bit less money 🙂
2. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR STORM SHELTER SUPPLIED WITH SURVIVAL ITEMS. Don’t put off getting all the necessary items you need for inside your shelter. In case you don’t know what items you will need, we recommend having flash lights, weather radio, bottles of water, fan, non perishable food items, and an air horn. Another heads up, make sure all the items you keep inside your shelter are battery powered. You may not have power when using your storm shelter during a tornado so plan accordingly. We also recommend getting a five gallon bucket to store all your items. This way nothing gets lost or misplaced.
3. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT. Remember back in school when we used to have to practice doing fire drills? This is a similar concept. Once every couple of months, get together as a family and simulate being under a tornado warning. In case you didn’t know, tornado watch = take caution, tornado warning = take action. Practice getting in and out of your storm shelter or safe room. Make sure everybody in the family knows how to open the lid and get inside. You never know what time of the day a tornado will hit. It is likely that children could be home by themselves so it is very important that they know how to use the storm shelter. Lucky for you, we make our shelters very easy to use for just this type of situation.
4. INSPECT YOUR SHELTER. It is a good idea to look inside your tornado shelter from time to time. If your shelter has a leak and is allowing water inside it is much better to figure that out before you have to use it during storm season. Leaks don’t happen often, but if you notice one, they are a very easy fix. Another thing that I do with my shelter is to bug bomb it once or twice a year to eliminate insects and other undesirable critters.
If you have any questions or concerns you can always give us a call. If you are interested in installing a storm shelter or safe room at your house, we can help with that as well. We have show rooms in both Oklahoma City and Tulsa so it’s easy for just about anybody in the state to see us.