Tornado Watch vs Warning: Don't Get Caught Off Guard as Severe Storms Slam Texas
Here we go again. You can feel it in the air—that heavy, electric charge that makes the hairs on your arm stand up. This week, national forecasters have much of West Texas and the Hill Country under the gun, and cities like San Angelo sent non-essential staff home early yesterday to get ahead of the mess. If you've lived through even one spring here, you know the drill: the sky turns that sickly green, the wind dies down just a little too much, and then your phone starts screaming. The question is, when that alert hits your screen, do you really know what it means? I've been watching these skies for over two decades, and I still see folks mix up a tornado watch and a tornado warning. In this business, that confusion can cost you precious minutes.
Watches vs. Warnings: The Difference Between Being Ready and Being in the Thick of It
Think of it this way: a tornado watch means the kitchen is open. The atmosphere has all the ingredients—warm, moist air near the ground, cooler dry air aloft, and plenty of wind shear. The chef (that's Mother Nature) is capable of cooking up a tornado. It's your signal to get your head out of your phone and start paying attention. Know where your safe place is, make sure the dog is inside, and charge your devices.
A tornado warning, on the other hand, means the entrée is on the plate and headed your way. A funnel has either been spotted by a trained spotter or, more likely these days, indicated by radar debris signature. That's not the time to ask questions—it's the time to move. Get to the lowest level of your home, put as many walls between you and the outside as possible, and cover your head. Hesitation in a warning is what gets people hurt.
Remembering the Night That Shook Us All: 3/30/22
I'll never forget the evening of March 30, 2022. We were tracking a line of supercells that exploded across Central Texas, and the warnings were coming so fast we could barely keep up on the air. My buddy Jarod, who lives in a mobile home out near Liberty Hill, called me in a full-blown panic. I could hear the wind roaring in the background, and he was yelling about the trees bending sideways. That was the one-year anniversary of Jarod's freak-out—well, technically it was the night itself. We still laugh about it now, because he made it through okay (he'd already driven to his brother's brick house an hour earlier), but that raw fear in his voice is something I'll never forget. That night, we had multiple confirmed tornadoes, and it drove home a lesson: knowing the difference between a watch and a warning isn't just weather nerd trivia. It's survival.
Storm Prep Wisdom from the Best
Since that season, I've made it a point to talk to everyone who knows this stuff cold. A while back, I caught an episode of a top-rated severe weather podcast—Episode 4, to be exact—where they sat down with Edward McCrane, a guy who's practically written the book on storm readiness. McCrane doesn't mess around with generic advice. He breaks it down to the essentials:
- Know your shelter options before the watch is even issued. If you're in a mobile home, identify a sturdy building within a few minutes' drive. Don't wait until the warning drops.
- Build a "go-kit" that isn't just a first-aid kit. Include N95 masks (for post-storm dust and debris), a weather radio with fresh batteries, and a laminated list of emergency contacts.
- Practice with your kids. McCrane emphasizes that muscle memory matters. Do a drill so when the real thing hits, they don't freeze.
His approach is all about taking the panic out of the equation. Prep so thoroughly that when the sirens go off, your body just moves.
Teaching the Next Generation: T is for Tornadoes
We've also got to get the little ones ready without scaring the daylights out of them. A few years back, a local teacher friend of mine started using the alphabet to explain severe weather. 83. T is for Tornadoes became a thing in her classroom—a simple way to teach kids that "T" can be for "tornado," but it can also be for "tornado strong." She shows them how to tuck and cover, and they practice in a calm, almost game-like way. It's brilliant, really. Because if a kid knows what "tornado warning" means, and they know exactly what to do, they're less likely to freeze when it counts.
Stay #TornadoStrong This Season
As I look at the radar this afternoon, with storms firing west of San Angelo and pushing east, I can't stress this enough: don't let your guard down. Check in on your neighbors, especially the elderly. Make sure your phone alerts are turned on. And for heaven's sake, if you're in a tornado warning, don't run outside to film it. We've all seen the viral videos, but I'd rather see you safe and sound tomorrow morning. We're Texans—we're tough, we look out for each other, and we know how to get through another spring. Let's keep it that way.