Tornadoes: Tips For Safety And Ways To Teach Kids About Them

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - It's easy to talk about sunny and rainy days, but what do people need to know about tornadoes?

During Severe Weather Week the CBS3 Eyewitness Weather team came up with a few ways for parents to explain tornadoes to kids:

• A tornado is a violent rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm in the sky to the ground.
• A tornado WATCH means a tornado is possible.
• A tornado WARNING means one has been spotted or is showing up on radar.  *Watches and warnings are issued by county.*

And a few tips anyone can use in case of a tornado:

• If you are inside and a tornado strikes you should get to the lowest part of the building, and as far away from windows as possible. A basement or powder room are ideal.
• If you can grab your pets, you should.
• If you are in a car during a tornado, cover your head or abandon your vehicle and get into the lowest location you can find. It is a good call to avoid hiding beneath a bridge or overpass where wind speed may pick up.