Severe thunderstorm warning

Of more than 40 types of watches, warnings and advisories issued by the National Weather Service, one stands out. The severe thunderstorm warning is issued ...

(However, automobiles are not safe at all in the case of a tornado.) Avoid open spaces, high ground, water, picnic shelters, dugouts and bleachers, and tall, pointy objects like trees and flagpoles. If your area is placed under a watch, experts advise that you stay tuned to trusted sources of weather information and be ready to act if a warning is issued. The change, scheduled for no earlier than 2025, is based on social science research that indicated public misunderstanding of advisories, which are issued when hazardous weather is happening or imminent, but the expected impacts are less serious than a warning. A severe thunderstorm warning is issued when severe storms are imminent or already happening. It’s also a good idea to turn off the air conditioner and unplug appliances, computers and other electronics to avoid damage from a power surge. Over the past 10 years, an average of 23 Americans were [killed by lightning](https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning-fatalities) annually and hundreds were injured. “So even if people are confused about which hazards are covered, the warning will tell them what to expect and what they can do to stay safe,” Wirz said in an email. Many states conduct [severe weather awareness weeks](https://www.weather.gov/safety/events_calendar) in March to educate people about these storms and their warnings, [which are issued more than 80,000 times per year on average in the United States](https://www.valuepenguin.com/weather-alerts-study), according to the consumer research firm ValuePenguin. “In general, I’d say that we don’t have evidence yet that changing the name of the warning would impact understanding or response,” Krocak said in an email. adults about what hazards the Weather Service considers when issuing severe thunderstorm warnings. The severe thunderstorm warning is To better understand what the public knows about severe thunderstorm warnings, researchers at the University of Oklahoma surveyed more than 1,400 U.S.