Fact vs. Fiction: Severe Weather

What is fact and what is fiction when it comes to severe weather? 

There are dozens of severe weather events across the U.S. every year, and chances are your business experienced one or more of them. It's important that your business be prepared for the impacts of severe weather. That starts with the help of the meteorologists at AccuWeather For Business, who can help you improve your severe weather plan.

There are many weather myths out there that can mislead businesses. Not separating fact from fiction could risk your property and people. Here are a few facts that you and your teams should know. 

FICTION: If the skies are clear and not raining, outdoor employees are safe from lightning. 

FACT: Lighting strikes can happen several miles away from a thunderstorm. If there are storms in your area, but the skies above you are clear, that doesn't mean you are safe from the dangers of lightning. Precautions should be taken. 

FICTION: Employees are safe from lighting inside a building.

FACT: Even if your employees are still inside a building, they can still be harmed by lightning. Electrical wires, plumbing, metal doors, and telephone lines can conduct lightning. 

FICTION: Lightning doesn't strike the same location twice.

FACT: Lightning can strike the same place or person twice. Tall buildings can be hit by lightning several times a year. According to data compiled by the Finland-based company Vaisala, the Willis Tower in Chicago was hit with 250 lightning strikes between 2015 and 2020.

FICTION: Heavy and larger vehicles can drive through flood waters safely. 

FACT: Driving or walking through rising waters is never safe, even in oversized or heavy vehicles. Any vehicle can float away in just a few feet of water. A good phrase to remember is turn around, don't drown. 

FICTION: Highway overpasses are a safe place to wait out a tornado.

FACT: Overpasses will concentrate tornado winds, making the wind stronger under an overpass than anywhere else. Concrete and other materials could fall from the overpass and injure anyone underneath. A safer place to wait out a tornado would be somewhere below ground level, like a ditch. 

FICTION: Opening the windows of your building or warehouse will save the building from the tornado’s low pressure which could cause it to explode.

FACT:  Opening windows of a building in an attempt to equalize the pressure will have no effect. Strong winds and debris will cause more damage to the building. During a tornado, every second matters. Moving your employees away from windows and into the shelter would be best.

Here's how we can help. Accurate forecasts and warnings allow companies to plan better and keep their teams and customers safer. As an example of our Superior Accuracy™, when tornadoes are in the forecast, we provide 16 minutes of advance notice compared to an average of 8 minutes from other sources.

Be proactive with AccuWeather's SkyGuard^® Warnings, which will deliver site-specific alerts and offer warnings well before severe weather hits, giving you much-needed time to be prepared. 

 Benefits of SkyGuard^® Warnings: 

• Proactive, site-specific alerts offer warnings well before severe weather impacts occur
• Live one-on-one or group consultation is provided by our weather experts anytime, day or night
• Alerts delivered in a format that aligns with your organizational emergency management plan
• Reviewed Tornado Notifications, we monitor your pinpoint location and alert you when a tornado isn't in your path
• All-clear notifications are sent when a threat is over, minimizing weather-related downtime
• All alerts are delivered via push notification from the SkyGuard mobile app, available on Android and iOS
  

Want to learn more about how we can help you? Demo SkyGuard^® today and protect your business, employees, and assets.

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