With the recent influx of summer storms and looming funnel clouds threatening the possibility of a tornado, you might be wondering what to do in the chance that your area is affected.

Environment Canada Meteorologist Dan Kulak says your best bet is to stay away from open areas.

"Basically you want to find buildings with small interior rooms you can duck into. Stay away from windows, doors, skylights and open fields. If you have a basement, go down there, underneath a set of stairs, your goal should be to get between yourself and as many walls as possible."

Kulak says its best to always have a shelter space in mind when a tornado touches down.

"If you live in a mobile home, have a designated building to relocate to, during the storm. If you're out in the middle of nowhere or in your car in the middle of a roadway, as weird as it sounds, we advise you to leave your veichle and attempt to find something sturdy to hold onto. You absolutely do not want to be in a car if a tornado plows through your area, it will reduce you to being the contents inside a tin can flying through the air rattling around and cause serious injury."

Despite the imposing nature of tornado's, Kulak says the prevalence and severity of ordinary thunderstorms make it a greater threat during the summer months.

"Since 2005, an average of 8 tornadoes have been reported, of course there are more we don't know about, but thunderstorms generally cause more injury and deaths throughout the summer months."

Kulak says in the case of a thunderstorm, just like a tornado, you want to have a firm shelter with plenty of walls, and be out of open areas if possible.

 

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