If at work or school, go to the basement or to an inside hallway at the lowest level. Avoid places with wide-span roofs such as auditoriums, cafeterias, large hallways, or shopping malls. If outdoors, get inside a building if possible. If shelter is not available or there is no time to get indoors, lie in a ditch or low-lying area but be aware of the potential for flooding. If in a car, never try to out drive a tornado.
Tornadoes can change direction quickly and can easily lift up a vehicle and toss it through the air.
Get out of the vehicle immediately and take shelter in a nearby building. Before a tornado hits, the wind may die down and the air may become very still. Tornadoes generally occur near the trailing edge of a thunderstorm. It is not uncommon to see clear, sunlit skies behind a tornado. After a tornado, help injured or trapped persons.