People outside the area often think that Texan weather is fairly calm. But there’s a lot of old sayings about the calm before a storm. And Texas tends to live up to those expectations. Texas tends to have fairly calm and pleasant weather most of the time. But when storms hit, they really hit. In fact, Texas has 11th place for tornado frequency in the US. This is why it’s not just important to know about tornado shelters, but to watch popular trends as well. There are five trends in particular which anyone concerned about tornados should take to heart.

1. Think safe room rather than safe house

One of the biggest trends has been a gradual realization about size. When people think about tornado shelters they often imagine larger structures. This may well be because cellars are a traditional place of shelter for storms. However, it’s important to keep in mind that traditions often bear examination.

Tornados are fierce in Texas. But they’re also fairly short lived. This means that there’s little need to plan for an extended stay in one’s shelter. People who’ve realized that fact often decide to go with something closer to a safe room. These are heavily secured structures built on very solid foundations. They’re typically closer to the size of a large closet than a shelter. And it can provide people with significant savings.

2. Testing the strength of a shelter

One nice benefit of outdoor shelters is that it’s easier to test them. Throwing around heavy equipment inside one’s home will get some cross looks. But if a shelter is outdoors then it’s easier to do proper stress testing. This often involves taking a heavy object and throwing it at the shelter.

An easy way to test this oneself is by using a 15-pound two-by-four. This can simulate some of the larger objects which might end up tossed at a shelter during a tornado. One can quickly verify that the frame of a shelter really is strong enough to stand up to the impact.

3. People benefit by keeping the local weather in mind

Another important trend relates to the ways people look at severe weather. It’s not at all uncommon for people to think about tornados as something of a universal issue. But every tornado is different. And every aspect of the local weather patterns can contribute to those differences. This means that someone in Texas needs to keep the areas unique weather in mind. For example, an above ground tornado shelter Texas style will incorporate those differences into the design. An above ground tornado shelter Texas style means adaptation to the flat, arid and less heavily populated landscape.

One will typically find people stocking water in their shelters in Texas to account for the arid land. It’s also more common for people to plan around the needs of neighbors since people are often less packed together than in other states. When one has fewer neighbors it makes sense for a community to work on issues together.

4. Running tornado drills with the family

Tornado drills are increasing in popularity. This recognizes just how mobile people are these days. When a tornado might hit people are going to be understandably concerned about their family. As such, it’s usually a good idea to have practice runs for any given emergency. In this case people would start out at a location they’re typically present for during the day. And as a whole, the family will attempt to get back home to the tornado shelter in a timely but safe manner. This can help people know just how long it might take family members to get to the shelter when an emergency occurs.

5. Making good use of GPS

Finally, many people are using GPS in conjunction with their tornado shelters. When putting up a new shelter one can ask about GPS based alerts. This means that in the case of an emergency the location of a shelter can be shared with those in need. This is particularly important in cases where one might need to know about a shelter that could end up obscured by debris.

Edward Bertrand