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Old 04-14-2017, 05:43 PM   #1
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Storm awareness

Just wondering what campers do if a severe thunderstorm or tornado warning happens. I just booked a camp site in Oklahoma and they show they have storm shelters available. Do other campgrounds have plans in place for severe weather situations?

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Old 04-14-2017, 09:15 PM   #2
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Some campgrounds record the cell phone numbers and give an alert by phone. We have had several places where the owner came by and knocked on the door. We always carry a NOAA weather radio and it is on whenever we are in the coach, mobile or not. When you park for the night, always ask what county you are end. After living for 40 years in the Midwest, tornado watches and warnings are part of that way-of-life.
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Old 04-15-2017, 01:55 AM   #3
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I think you will find all campgrounds have some kind of plan in place. We have had ranger staff come notify us of severe weather coming in. If you are within range of a TV signal, the local channels will be tracking storms. A NOAA radio is aways good to have, and your smart phone weather and weather radar aps should give you a warning if you have the location feature active.

We have never had a campground notify us by cell phone of a storm, but that is a great idea. Left an awning out in a storm once and had it ripped off in the storm that blew up in the night. That was long before NOAA or smart phones. We now rarely leave the awning out when we aren't underneath it.
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Old 04-16-2017, 01:48 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by travelingcat View Post
Just wondering what campers do if a severe thunderstorm or tornado warning happens. I just booked a camp site in Oklahoma and they show they have storm shelters available. Do other campgrounds have plans in place for severe weather situations?
Travelingcat,

The following is something I saw on the Winnabego "Skinnie-Winnie" forum some time ago. It's not copyright protected so I am sharing this just for the sake of sharing and a food for thought for further discussion.

Bad Weather RVing Tips



1. Be Prepared for Any Kind of Weather

· Have good weather apps on your smartphone and use them. The Weather Channel has good real-time radar, so you can see where an oncoming storm is headed. Hi-Def Radar is an app that was recommended to us by truckers; it’s very good for radar, too. Enable alerts for likely kinds of severe weather in your area, so your phone can beep at you in the event weather is coming and you don't have a radio on.
· Watch the forecast and change your route, if possible. We have done this a number of times. Last year, we drove down from Salt Lake City to I-70 to avoid being on I-80 in a forecast blizzard. At least we knew folks in Denver who could help us if necessary. As it was, we survived power outages at a city campground in 17-degree weather and several inches of snow. But that beat the heck out of being in Wyoming with 30-40mph cross winds where there were fewer places to stop and no one we knew.
· Carry a crank weather radio, in case you don’t have power or internet or phone.
· Carry appropriate clothing to get you through whatever (and remember when you’re traveling that weather conditions vary greatly in different parts of the country and at elevation). We keep this stuff with us on almost all trips, regardless of time of year: rainsuit and waterproof shoes; 3-season jacket plus hat, gloves, scarf; sunhat, sunscreen, mosquito prep. Of course, we have a dog to walk, no matter what the weather….


2. Severe Thunderstorms

· Bring in awning at first sign of wind, but bring in slide when winds start to howl.
· Put away everything outside (eliminate projectiles).
· Point nose into the wind, but if you can’t, you’d be amazed how sturdy it is in 70mph cross winds. We had these winds at a Wisconsin campground that was basically an enormous, open field. We had no problems, but the trailer across the road was picked up and its awning arm was thrust through the wall of the trailer, narrowly missing its occupants’ heads. Tenters were blown down the field inside their tents. We were fine.
· Prepare to evacuate (unplug, unhook). The one area where we haven’t figured out what’s best is the canvas windshield cover. We like to keep that on if there’s going to be hail, but having it on prevents bugging out. A judgment call here….


3. Tornados

· If you’re driving, find a sturdy (cement block) gas station or Walmart or some such and park on leeward side of building (as close as you can get). Patronize establishment when safe. One memorable time was at a gas station in Alabama, where we bought some of their locally famous fried chicken and then watched cars being blown off the road during severe weather as we dined in safety.
· If at campground, talk to the ranger or host about where to shelter if necessary. And hope you don’t have to. We evacuated a COE campground for a commercial one in town during some inclement weather along the Mississippi last summer; when checking in, the host said, “If the sirens go off, come on up here and go to the basement.” After we got to our site and saw that the entire place was crammed full (minimum 6 people per site x at least 150 sites), we knew that basement wasn’t a-gonna work. Thank goodness we didn’t have to find out.
· Prepare to evacuate (unplug, unhook, get dressed if in middle of the night).


4. Flash Flooding/Heavy Rain

· As someone who had to get towed out of the mud last summer in the Midwest (where most campgrounds seem to have just grass sites—no gravel, no asphalt), I can confidently say that it’s a good idea to put Lego blocks under all the wheels, so you don’t sink in. We are a lot heavier than trailers and you WILL sink. And to have Coachnet. And to read your manual and know where the tow eye is and how to install it; makes towing quick and easy.


Be ready to bug out and get onto pavement if a real gully washer comes. We did that early one morning in our PJs when the skies opened up. We hustled out to the paved marina area; got dressed and had breakfast with a waterfront view.

5. Snow

· Carry pink stuff (RV antifreeze) or pick some up at Walmart or Camping World if forecast even hints that it'll go below freezing. We did not expect to be in a snowstorm in mid-May; now we know to just stock a jug of the stuff if there are any mountains at all on our route.
· Keep your propane tank as full as possible for heat source if power goes out and it’s really cold.


6. Earthquake

· Not weather, of course, but I do have to note that we were camping up in Wine Country 2 years ago when Napa had its shaker in the middle of the night. We’ve been through many big quakes in buildings, but never asleep on rubber tires and shocks. My, oh my, did we rock and roll. Thought we were going to tip over, but we didn't. I will say that it’s prudent to unhook power in the event of surges when power comes back on and to avoid lighting any kind of matches (or running on propane) until you’re given the all clear about gas leaks. The Fire Dept. did come and inspect the campground for leaks. Also, always good to have extra drinking water on hand in earthquake country because city water can easily be disrupted.

Best regards,

Ed & Robin
2016 Thor Synergy TT24 3.0L
Nina, Kitt and Mickey (cats)
17k miles and counting
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Old 04-16-2017, 03:17 AM   #5
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6. Earthquake

Just a remember that Okahoma is now an earthquake zone due to fracking. Has just as many as California now. Sad
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Old 04-16-2017, 03:30 AM   #6
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I'll have to check out Hi-Def Radar app. I have 'radar scope' app and it saved me from driving right into a Tornado in Kansas, we drove around it. The radar screen is so accurate I can tell when we are going to lose satellite reception and when we are going to get it back.
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Old 04-16-2017, 03:50 AM   #7
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We use Hi-Def Radar and love it. Bet weather radar app I could find. Easy to move it around to other location and see what you are headed into.
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Old 04-16-2017, 04:15 AM   #8
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I grew up in Oklahoma in the middle of tornado alley, lived most of my life there. In the spring, fall, winter, and summer big storms can happen at any time. Always keep an eye on the weather channels and be prepared to move or take shelter, weather in Oklahoma can change in an instant. Will Rogers always said "if you don't like the weather in Oklahoma, just wait a minute it'll change!!!"
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Old 04-16-2017, 04:21 AM   #9
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The list KC posted is complete...
Living in eastern Kansas, we find ourselves spending a night, usually, in western part of the state either coming or going West...
Have been through some fairly severe storms. None of the campgrounds we have stayed in are safe shelters.
If we know a storm is headed our direction,...we park nose into the wind and make sure our phones/flashlights/lanterns etc are well charged and rain gear handy. If traveling with pets, secure them for a rocky night.

Happy Camping !
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Old 04-16-2017, 01:54 PM   #10
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While full timing in our fiver we experienced severe weather situations several times in different parts of the country. First and foremost we have numerous weather related apps on our I-phones.

As a retired trooper I have a little experience in being on the interstates and highways during severe weather. For severe storms the most dangerous thing to do is to pull over onto the shoulder when severe weather hits. If you are having trouble seeing, others still flying down the road are having just as much trouble seeing and you don't want to be sitting on the shoulder. When you see the weather approaching start looking for an exit where the interstate goes over the secondary exit road. In other words exit where you can sit under the actual interstate. We waited out two huge hail storms this way that would have certainly caused serious damage to our RV. The next best thing is to get next to a strong brick/concrete building. The main thing is to not wait until the last minute to get off the road when traveling in an RV.

Our experience is that most CG's don't have good underground shelters available or plans in place for severe weather. However, that is all part of staying aware of the weather in the area you are in. When we set up for the night at a CG and severe weather is predicted we will check around and have a plan in mind. Of course when traveling in a fiver it was pretty easy to jump in a 1-ton truck and go to a shelter or solid building, not so with a MH all hooked up in a camp site at 3am.

So for us I guess the bottom line is that while traveling during the day we feel we can avoid most of the severe weather if we pay attention. However, in the middle of the night I feel most RVers are at risk and there isn't much you can do about it.
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Old 04-16-2017, 03:12 PM   #11
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Joe, I'm sure you've seen your share and then some of wrecks! Pulling over on the shoulder is just an accident waiting to happen, and you'll probably see it first hand!!!
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Old 04-16-2017, 06:38 PM   #12
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