Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A
tornado watch
means conditions are favorable for the development of a tornado. A
tornado warning
means one has been sighted in the vicinity. In either case, emergency
sirens are active almost everywhere in Wisconsin.
An important tip: If you're traveling in the state during tornado season, get yourself an
emergency weather radio and keep it with you.
And if a tornado hits, seek shelter in a basement and get under a table if possible. Avoid
windows at all costs. If there is no basement, find an interior room, such as a bathroom,
with no windows. Avoid rooms with outside walls on the south or west side of a building.
If you are driving, position yourself at right angles to the tornado's apparent path. If over-
taken, you've got a dilemma: Experts disagree about whether to stay in the car with your
seatbelt on or get out and lie flat in a ditch. In my terrifying experiences with twisters, I've
gotten out and gotten low.
Thunderstorms and Lightning
Lightning still kills about 200-300 people per year nationwide, more than tornadoes and
hurricanes combined. Wisconsin averages two serious thunderstorms per year, with a mid-
summer average of two relatively modest ones each week. Don't let this lull you into com-
placency inautumn,however;thisauthorscribblededitionnumberoneofthisguideduring
ferocious thunderstorms on Halloween, replete with marble-size hail, flash floods, and tor-
nadic activity.
Thunderstorms are often deadlier than tornadoes, particularly when you're driving or
when isolated in open areas. Lightning is serious stuff—remember, if you're close enough
to hear thunder, you're close enough to get fried. The cardinal rule when lightning is
present: Avoid anything outside—especially trees. If you cannot get indoors, squat on the
balls of your feet, hugging your knees in a balled position, reducing your contact with the
ground and your apparent size. If indoors, stay away from anything that has a channel to
the outside: telephones, TVs, radios, even plumbing.
Snowstorms
Technically, four inches of snow per 24-hour period qualifies as heavy snowfall (but to that
paltry amount a Wisconsinite would just sniff in derision).
Six inches in 8-12 hours will cause serious transportation disruptions and definitely
closeairportsforawhile.Snowgenerallybeginstostickinmid-tolateOctoberinnorthern
Wisconsin, and early December in southern Wisconsin, though snow has fallen as early as
September and as late as May on rare occasions.
