THE ISSUE: The National Weather Service said that an EF-1 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 100 mph touched down in downtown Columbia at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 20 and traveled roughly 3 miles through Columbia Borough, leaving at least 25 damaged buildings in its wake. Minutes later, an EF-0 tornado (the weakest type) touched down briefly in Mountville, damaging several cornfields. A third tornado, also classified as EF-0, caused significant damage to trees and pulled gutters from homes in Manor Township. (The Enhanced Fujita Scale rates tornadoes according to their estimated wind speeds and damage.)
If you live in or near northwest Lancaster County, you should have gotten an insistent, buzzing warning on your smartphone Aug. 20, alerting you to a possible tornado in the area. Or maybe you got a push notification from LNP | LancasterOnline. Or saw the ticker on your local TV station.
We hope you heeded that alert — you should not take chances with tornadoes.
Unfortunately, too many of us do take chances, because we’re thankfully unfamiliar with devastating tornado damage. As LNP | LancasterOnline has reported, the “most destructive tornado to hit the county was an EF-2 twister on Feb. 24, 2016, in Salisbury Township that resulted in $8 million in damage. No one was injured.”
So we stay at our desks, or on our living room sofas, or at our kitchen workspaces or wherever we are when the alarm sounds.
This is not sensible.
Tornadoes are chaotic and perilous and, because of climate change, we are experiencing ever more severe weather events. We may not live in Tornado Alley on the Great Plains but, as Aug. 20 demonstrated, we’re not immune from danger.
We must acquaint ourselves with tornado safety.
That means, first of all, scrupulously heeding tornado warnings — each and every time. And then taking action to stay safe.
The following information comes from the National Weather Service. Please read it carefully.
First, here are some terms:
— A “tornado watch” means tornadoes “are possible in and near the watch area. Review and discuss your emergency plans, take inventory of your supplies and check your safe room. Be ready to act quickly if a warning is issued or you suspect a tornado is approaching. ... The watch area is typically large, covering numerous counties or even states.”
— A “tornado warning” means you must take action because a “tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar” and there is “imminent danger to life and property. ... Warnings typically encompass a much smaller area.”
— If the phrase “tornado emergency” is used, seek shelter immediately. This is the National Weather Service’s highest alert level, issued “when a violent tornado has touched down in the watch area. There is a severe threat to human life and property, with catastrophic damage confirmed. Immediately seek refuge in the safest location possible. Call friends and family who are within the watch area to ensure they are aware of the situation. If you see a tornado approaching, do not attempt to outrun it in a vehicle; shelter in place.”
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The National Weather Service advises that you have a family plan in place before one is needed.
That means choosing a safe room in your home, “such as a basement, storm cellar, or an interior room on the lowest floor with no windows.” You may want to equip that room with drinking water, as well as some basic, nonperishable foods and essential medications, and don’t forget to provide for the family pets.
Apartment dwellers should choose the lowest floor available, “with as many walls between you and the outside as possible.”
If you reside in a mobile home, identify a nearby safe building you can get to as soon as a tornado watch is issued; don’t wait for a tornado warning.
If you live in a home without a basement, a bathroom may be a good shelter. But contrary “to popular belief, there is nothing magically safe about getting in a bathtub with a mattress,” the weather service says, noting that it “depends on where your bathroom is. If your bathroom has windows and is along an outside wall, it’s probably not the best shelter.”
A small interior closet might be adequate, as long as it’s deep inside your home, with no outside walls, doors or windows. Same goes for an interior hallway. “However, with tornadoes there are no absolutes, and you should look closely at your home when determining your shelter area,” the weather service states.
“Get in, get down and cover up” is the mantra you should remember when a tornado alarm sounds, no matter where you are.
As the National Weather Service explains, this means getting as far into the middle of a sturdy building as possible, and getting underground if you can. The aim is to put “as many barriers between you and the outside as possible.”
It’s not the wind that causes most harm — it’s the debris carried in the wind. So stay away from windows. Use “coverings (pillows, blankets, sleeping bags, coats, etc) and helmets to shield your head and body and to protect yourself from flying debris,” the weather service advises.
It also recommends that you conduct a “family severe thunderstorm drill regularly so everyone knows what to do if a tornado is approaching.”
And some timeless advice: You may also want to consider learning CPR so you can offer help if someone needs it.
On the subject of helping, Columbia Mayor Leo Lutz expressed gratitude for the resources provided by Lancaster County and state agencies to borough residents in the aftermath of the Aug. 20 tornado.
We laud Columbia Borough officials, as well as officials from county government and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, for holding an event last week at the Columbia Borough Fire Department for area residents affected by the tornadoes.
Tornadoes don’t touch down here all the time. But we should be prepared for when they do.