The safest place to shelter from a tornado is in a basement or underground storm cellar. If neither is available, an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building, away from windows, is your next best option. The key principle is simple: put as many walls between you and the outside as possible, and get as low as you can.
Best Shelter Inside a Building
A basement is the gold standard. If you have one, get under a sturdy piece of furniture like a workbench or heavy table and protect your head. If your home doesn’t have a basement, go to a small interior room on the ground floor: a bathroom, closet, or hallway with no windows. The more walls between you and the exterior of the building, the better protected you are from flying debris, which is what causes most tornado injuries and deaths.
Stay away from windows, exterior walls, and corners. Corners tend to collect debris as it’s funneled inward. The center of a small room is safer. Rooms built with reinforced concrete or block walls and a heavy concrete floor overhead offer the best above-ground protection. If you’re in a multi-story building, get to the lowest floor first, then find that small interior space.
Spaces You Should Avoid
Not all rooms in a building offer equal protection. Gymnasiums, auditoriums, cafeterias, and warehouses with flat, wide-span roofs are particularly dangerous. These large open spaces lack the structural support to withstand tornado-force winds, and their roofs can collapse inward. If you’re in a school or workplace when a tornado warning sounds, move to an interior hallway or small room rather than gathering in a gym or large open area.
Highway overpasses are one of the most dangerous places to shelter. Wind speeds actually increase under an overpass due to a tunneling effect, and you’re elevated and exposed to debris. Despite a widely shared video from the 1990s showing a film crew surviving under one, this is not a safe option.
Standing near windows is also a serious risk. You may have heard that opening windows equalizes air pressure and prevents your house from exploding. That’s a myth. Opening windows does nothing to control pressure, and it lets wind-driven rain into your home. More importantly, the time you spend opening windows is time wasted getting to shelter, and being near unprotected glass during a tornado is one of the most dangerous positions in a building.
Mobile Homes Offer Almost No Protection
Mobile and manufactured homes are extremely vulnerable to tornadoes, even at lower wind speeds. If you live in one, the best thing you can do is plan your shelter location before storm season. Identify a nearby permanent structure, ideally a friend or relative’s house with a basement, and confirm you can access it 24 hours a day. A community storm shelter is another good option; many mobile home parks and municipalities maintain designated shelters.
If a tornado is approaching and you have any lead time at all, leave your mobile home and drive to your pre-planned shelter. If you’re caught without time to reach a permanent building, get out of the mobile home and lie flat in a ditch or other low-lying area. Cover your head with your hands or arms. This is a last resort, but it’s still safer than staying inside a manufactured home. The goal is to get below ground level so that flying debris passes over you.
What to Do in a Car
If you’re driving and can see a tornado in the distance, your best move is to drive at right angles to its path and reach a sturdy building. Tornadoes typically move from southwest to northeast, but not always, so watch the funnel’s direction rather than assuming.
If you can’t outrun the storm or reach a building, you have two options. You can stay in your car with your seatbelt fastened, duck below the windows, and cover your head. Or you can abandon the vehicle and get into a ditch or low area nearby. The National Weather Service recommends either approach depending on circumstances. A car offers some protection from smaller debris, but a strong tornado can roll vehicles. A low ditch gets you below the debris field. In either case, cover your head and neck.
What to Wear and Bring
Head injuries are a leading cause of tornado-related deaths and serious harm. Keeping a bicycle helmet or similar protective headgear in your shelter area can meaningfully reduce your risk. This is especially practical for children. Put it on as soon as you take shelter.
Footwear matters too, and it’s something most people don’t think about until afterward. Tornadoes leave behind enormous amounts of debris: broken glass, nails, splintered wood, metal fragments. Put on sturdy shoes, tennis shoes or boots, before or during the storm. Flip-flops and bare feet leave you vulnerable to serious injuries when you emerge.
A flashlight, phone, and a blanket or thick sleeping bag to shield against debris are also worth keeping in your shelter space. If you’re in a bathroom, pulling a mattress over you or getting into the bathtub adds an extra layer of protection from falling structures.
Finding Public Storm Shelters
Many communities maintain designated public storm shelters, particularly in tornado-prone regions. These are often located in public buildings, parks, or community centers. Your local emergency management office can provide a list of shelter locations. Some communities also post this information on government websites or through emergency alert apps.
If you’re new to an area or traveling, check with your hotel front desk or look for posted emergency procedures. In communities with multiple shelters, local governments are required to publicize which ones are accessible to people with disabilities. If you or someone in your household uses a wheelchair or mobility aid, identifying an accessible shelter ahead of time is worth doing before severe weather season begins.