What to Do When Storms Hit While RVing

Do you know what to do when storms hit while RVing? I love to travel, and I like to follow good weather when I can. Weather can be an unpredictable thing but there are things you can do to prepare for such events. Here are some tips, applications and actions to take for when a storm hits.

Preparation and Planning

Many times, preparation and planning can save us a lot of time and heart ache. Therefore, planning your route before you head out is smart. Luckily for us climatologist Brian Brettschneider created a route that will keep you on track for perfect weather. To access the map and detailed information of how Brian created the course check out the 2015 article on the website do it yourself RV.

Related Read: Spring Storms and How to Survive Them

Applications

There are several weather apps available for RVers and you can read more about those under related read below. I would like to talk about two apps because they are ones I personally use. If you look at my phone you will find AccuWeather: Weather Tracker and Live Forecast Maps. With the AccuWeather app you can view current, hourly, and daily weather. As well as read news and access a radar. You also can join your community and alert those in your area of current weather conditions.

The other weather app I use is the Red Cross tornado App. While the Rec Cross offers many more apps, I favor the tornado one. I am not sure if it is because I grew up in Ohio and have seen four funnel clouds in my life or if it is because out of things like floods, tornadoes and snow storms the tornadoes scare me the most. One should be aware of all-weather conditions, so it is a good idea to have multiple apps. My favorite feature is the ability to set up alerts and not just in the area I am currently in, but I can set up an alert for family. So, say I am in Texas and my mom is in Ohio I can set an alert to be notified if there is bad weather where my mom is. Then. I can call or text her to see if she is ok. One thing about being on the road is worrying about loved ones back home. Well by using the Red Cross app you can have some relief from worry.

Related Read: Weather Apps and Websites for Rvers

Tips

We have talked a little bit about preparation, planning and applications but now what? Maybe you are driving, or you are at camp, or maybe you are visiting friends or out site seeing, and it hits – hail, damaging winds, and worse a tornado threat. Let us look at the first scenario where you are driving down the road. This is where planning ahead can reduce the risk of experiencing a storm during travel but let us face it at one time or another, we will encounter a storm while driving. Safe drive directory talks about driving before, during and after a storm. Remember to have your headlights on all fifty States have a headlight use law and while there is a law in place it is just good common sense to drive with your headlights on during a storm. The first thing to do is pull over safely, turn off your vehicle and turn on your hazards. I have had to pull over before and the best place I found was under and overpass or in a car wash. A storm hit with hail and we quickly pulled into a car wash with our RV. The hail had been so heavy that when we returned to camp there were dents in our picnic table. We were fortunate to not suffer any damage to our RV thanks to our quick thinking.

When you can do so safely get back on the road and continue in your travels. Do not ever get out of your vehicle in the middle of a storm for fear of being struck by lightning or electrocution due to downed power lines.

In the next scenario you are at camp and a storm is rolling in what do you do? Depending on how much notice you have will determine your actions. I tend to check AccuWeather daily; actually, many times a day if there is a high chance for a damaging storm. You can make sure your phone is charged, preset your radio to the weather station, and have an emergency plan in place. Take down your EZ up, put away all chairs, and toys that might get blown away or damaged by hail. Once you have secured your RV site and checked on your fellow campers find an activity to preoccupy your time. I am a worrier and many times worriers will create a scarier scenario in their head then what actually occurs. It is never a waste of time to plan and prepare because that worst-case scenario can happen. Be alert, be prepared and if the tornado siren does go off seek shelter immediately. Most campgrounds/resorts have a plan in place, and it is easier to ask that plan at check in versus later when it is too late.

Something to think about is not just storms but what storms bring in the form of flooding. Not only do you have to consider hail and tornadoes, but you also need to think about flooding. We were camping on the Ohio River when we experienced flash floods. We did not have time to even hook up the travel trailer to our truck. We waded in almost knee-deep water with kids and dogs in our arms barely escaping with our lives. Remember materialistic things can be replaced the lives of you, your children and pets can not be replaced.

What if you are out site seeing or visiting friends? We were recently in Michigan visiting a family who use to travel full-time with us. We had made plans to go site seeing but after looking at the weather outlook we decided to stay in, make pizza and watch movies. I am glad we did because while we were there a funnel cloud was spotted near the campground. At that point there was nothing we could do about what was happing at camp. Thanks to technology I was able to go on our Facebook group page and talk to those back at camp. The tornado siren was going off and as mentioned before the camps emergency plan was enacted. Thankfully upon return everything was okay this time. If you are out site seeing seek immediate shelter in a boutique, yogurt shop or nearest solid building. Avoid trees, water and down powerlines.

Conclusion
Preparation and planning are key elements to surviving a deadly storm. Get yourself a good app, weather radio, have a charged cell phone and seek immediate shelter.