6 Severe Weather Facts Every Homeowner Should Know About

As our dependence on technology increases, so does the number of homes in America equipped with automatic transfer switch generators.

A power outage during a severe thunderstorm can be more dangerous to homeowners due to our reliance on electricity to communicate and listen to local forecasters. Storms are nearly impossible to predict. Home generators with automatic trasfer switches can be relied on as the most treacherous weather approaches your home or place of business.

As soon as the power goes out, your generator will activate. This will quickly get power to your essential weather-watching and communication devices.

Thinking about installing automatic transfer switch generators for your home? Contact Northside Power: https://northsidepower.com/contactus/

1. While the wind inside the tornado can exceed 300 MPH, the average tornado only travels along the ground at 10 to 20 MPH.

This doesn’t make them any less dangerous. Just an interesting fact.

2. Supercell storm systems are the most likely to create a tornado.

Severe thunderstorms—the ones that cause power outages—produce the most destructive tornadoes. They also produce hail.

3. The United States of America reportedly experiences 1,000 tornadoes a year, on average.

This is more than any country in the world. Seems like discovering America was much more terrifying than what you read about in history books.

4. On average, the path a tornado leaves is less than 1,550 feet wide.

One of the things that make tornadoes dangerous is their unique ability to create severe, focused destruction. Being able to predict their movement would save lives. The average tornado is on the ground for five minutes. With better data, forecasters could more accurately provide homeowners living in the area information about where the tornado will land—in enough time for them to act.

5. Storms are very difficult to predict.

The weather is difficult to predict, in general. This doesn’t mean there is a lack of effort. The weather is determined based on many different, delicate atmospheric variables.

With the advanced technology we have today, forecasters get an average lead time of about 16 minutes before a tornado touches down. This is a significant improvement from the five minute lead time forecasters had in the 1980s. This improvement is largely due to supercomputers and faster numerical forecasting.

As numerical forecasting improves, weather forecasters are aiming to grow their lead time to one hour. It’s a daunting task, but the information could save lives.

6. A tornado going through a residential area will sound like a train.

Hopefully you are safely in your shelter, not outdoors trying to listen for the sound of an approaching tornado. Tornados sound different depending on the area they are going through. A tornado in a flat field with nothing to pick up will not have as deep of a roar as a tornado going through a forest.

A tornado going through a residential area will make a sound similar to a train because of the debris it will pick up.