This advice could save your life!

[NDJollyMon]

This advice is for both old members and new members.

If you are new to RVing, please read the thread above about TORNADO PREPARDNESS. It could very well save your life.

This week, we experienced over 30 tornadoes in our area in a few hours time. One area that was struck is the lake area where our Salem trailer is parked. The tornado in Mentor, MN took out a whole campground on the lake tossing the trailers and boats all over. The area was completely destroyed, and I know there were people in some of these trailers that did not evacuate. The tornado dropped down and wiped out that campground then hopped over the road over our campground sparing it completely! (aside from downed trees) About a mile North of our trailer the tornado dropped down on the only gas station in town, and destroyed it. Three people were hiding inside who were injured. The owner of the station was in the store, and sacrificed his life by diving on top of his daughter to shield her from the flying debris. Wes Michaels was killed protecting his daughter. I bought my last tank of gas from Wes last week.

The moral of the story here is...we are all vulnerable to Mother Nature. She can and will strike at any time. Please do what you can to protect yourself and your family from dangerous weather.

ADVICE:

A good NOAA Weather radio should be VERY high on your list of RV items to buy. These days...weather alerts can come by cell phone as well.

Knowing where your campground fall out shelter is CRITICAL! Sometimes, there are only SECONDS to get there!

When a WARNING is broadcast...get out of that trailer and seek hardened shelter immediately!

Be safe out there fellow campers!

PS...ever seen what happens to a travel trailer in a tornado? Ever seen a pontoon boat 25 feet up in a tree? I have.

[Herk7769]

We were just missed during a trip cross country.

I had no idea there even WAS a shelter until after it was all over.

No one came for us. Afterwards everyone wondered why we did not "show up" when the sirens were going off.

Lesson learned when camping in "Tornado Alley"

[ilovecamping]

I think the bathhouses are the only shelter in most of the campgrounds we go to. I know everyone in the cg could not fit in them. I often look around for a low area to lay in if anything happened like that. I am not sure we would be safe, but it would be better than staying in the trailer.

[pondlady]

Thanks so much for the info. As a Michigander born in tornado alley and Katrina survivors, we know what weather can do and respect it greatly.
After Katrina we found our refrigerator in a tree several blocks away-at least we think it was ours. We found our chimney and the slab where our house was and that's about all.