Preparing for Severe Weather

Hello, my name is Carol for RV Repair Club. When we travel in our RV's, we at some point will encounter severe weather. And it's important to know what to do and how to handle the circumstance. My husband and I travel all across the country and we've experienced all types of weather from hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, extreme heat, extreme cold, snow storms, and more. The most important thing you can do when traveling, is to monitor the weather conditions and know what you'll be driving into and what the predictions are for the areas that you're in. Make sure that you have alerts set on your phone and that it knows where you are so that you can get the correct updates. When I am trip routing, I also look at the predicted weather maps to see if I need to make any special plans for our trip. I remember 20 years ago, we made plans to go to the outer banks and decided to go in mid May in order to avoid the hurricane season. I made the mistake of not tracking the weather, and as we were about an hour away from our destination, we heard a weather report on the radio regarding this tropical storm that was coming up the coast. My husband and I didn't know what to do, so we decided that since it was only a tropical storm, that it might be okay. So when we arrived at the campground, we spoke to the host and talked to them about it and ask them if they thought that it was going to be safe. And they inclined to tell us that they thought we would be fine. At that time, we were in a small class C motorhome with only motorcycles in tow, and we had Three dogs with us. We hadn't stopped yet to get groceries, and we only had the food on board that we brought. The storm started that night and lasted for Three days. The wind was so bad that I could barely walk, while we were taking the dogs out. They were not happy either . It rained so much that the campground flooded and there was a good Three to Six inches of water on the ground, all around us. There were times when we had absolutely no power and it was a very dangerous situation and then we couldn't evacuate because all of the roadways around us were completely flooded. That storm was our wake up call and we decided we would never put ourselves in that harm again. Along with monitoring the weather from your phone, be sure that you keep on hand a battery powered NOAA weather radio with you. Travel with an emergency kit that has all of the essentials that you need. Things like a first aid kit, items to start a fire, Compass for navigation, find food and survive, flashlights, backup battery power packs. It's also important to keep an ample supply water, food for both you and your pets and also keep enough propane and fuel on board your RV. You'll want to make sure that you keep the weather appropriate items in your RV as well. This includes items like rain coats, blankets, snow gear, I like to keep a small saw on board that will help me cut branches or also helped me make firewood if necessary. I also keep a multi-purpose shovel with me, that will not only move snow but also handles other tasks as needed. The types of weather you can encounter varies by region, but you need to always be prepared. Interventional rainstorms, you'll want to be most wary of flooding. If you're staying in a campground with a Creek, ask the hosts if it's ever flooded. You can look at FEMA maps online and see the hundred year flood maps that will tell you if you're going to be in an area that floods frequently. If you're driving during or after a storm and encounter a roadway that has a barricade, remember not to go around the barricade. Turn around and find an alternate route. In excessive heat, you want to keep the RV in the shade, if at all possible have adequate drinking water on board and also don't leave your pets for any period of time either in your RV or in your truck. If the power goes out they'll actually be no time before it's too hot for them. Keep the shades closed and windshield covered while park and try not to use the stove or oven inside the RV for cooking as it will just add to the heat. In a hurricane, or a hurricane warning, have an evacuation plan. Don't wait until it's too late, as the roads could already be flooded. A storm surge can travel miles inland and cause significant flooding. Be aware of flying debris, fallen trees and high winds. In a severe lightning storm, there is no safe place outdoors. The rule of thumb is that if you hear thunder, you're in striking distance of lightning. If you're outside, you want to avoid open fields, top of the Hills or Ridge tops. Stay away from tall isolated trees and other objects. Stay away from bodies of water or metal objects as they can conduct electricity. If you're in a campground, stay inside and seek shelter in a building lower your antenna. A tornado watch means that you need to be prepared. Have your plan in place and know where to seek shelter. If you're staying in a campground, that's in a prone area, talk to the host, find out where to go in the event of a tornado. Keep a NOAA weather radio with you. Listen to the updates. A tornado warning means that there's rotation present in the storm and you should seek shelter immediately. If you're driving on the road, you need to find a safe place to hunker down until it passes. Do not sit under an underpass, find a building, or if you're on an open highway with no shelter on site find a ditch or Ravine and stay there until the storm passes. A vehicle or an RV is not a safe place to hide in a tornado. When traveling always be prepared and have emergency plans, set a safe meeting place for your family at each location, you're going to stay in and know how to handle all types of weather events. So you can safely enjoy your trip.