"Tornado Alley" is loosely defined as the very large territory that extends from Texas, northward to eastern Nebraska and northeast to Indiana. Still..tornadoes can definitely appear outside these boundaries.

 

Ian's Disclaimer
Now, first I have to get my disclaimer out of the way. I’m not from  “Tornado Alley.” I didn’t grow up in “Tornado Alley”. I’ve never even been there.
I sometimes suffer well-intentioned (I hope) jokes in our staff meetings, since I’m not as “familiar” with adverse weather events in the United States. I am from the faraway land known as “England.”

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Now, contrary to the general consensus of the writing staff, our head of state is and never has been King Arthur.  Likewise, Robin Hood is a fictional construct. There are no unicorns, and no one in the UK sounds anything like Dick Van Dyke's overplayed Cockney in the Disney film Mary Poppins.

On to weather. Our weather is the envy of no one in Europe, except maybe Belgium.  Maybe.

Let me assure you that the weather of cities like Manchester and Leeds make Chicago or Detroit look like heaven on Earth by comparison.  In fact, England may have the most miserable weather on the planet, which may account for our history of colonialism. We were so eager to see the sun, wherever on the planet that it otherwise shined. At least that’s my theory.

Our senior staff writer, Ryan, a self-professed “expert” on hurricanes and tornadoes had to be convinced to let me write this, since he didn’t think a Mancunian knows what inclement weather is. He also told me to make sure I did what a good writer does, and do my research. I did.

According to Severewx.co.uk, a UK specific site dedicated to “severe weather,” the United Kingdom gets 33 or more tornadoes a year, but that number can be way higher in peak years. In 1982, there were 150 tornadoes reported. While that number may not be so high, bear in mind that the US is 39 times the size of the UK. According to Dr. Ted Fujita, the American inventor of the F-scale, the UK has more “twisters” per unit area than any country in the world.

So yes, the weather is actually worse where I am from. I’m no stranger to tornadoes.  I’m also no stranger to home repair. My father was a firm believer in the “Do-It-Yourself” ethic, and put me to work at an early age. I’m a veteran of many concrete pours, as well as rebuilt roofs, doors, and windows. While I wouldn’t sell myself as an expert engineer or anything, but I’ve rebuilt a few homes in my later years and certainly fancy myself a competent carpenter.  All jokes aside, I highly recommend reading Ray Gibson's take on tornado preparation for a more generalized view.

Now that we’ve established that, on with the show!

According to the Institute for Business & Home Safety (the non-profit IBHS was my primary source for this article and for more detailed information I endorse them in complete faith), Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma see the most of unpredictable and dangerous weather in the nation.  That would certainly account for the difference in real estate prices.  We don’t see too many tornadoes in Northern California, but I certainly wouldn’t mind paying a saner mortgage note! In any case, the rest of the nation still sees it’s share of “twisters,” and it’s never too early to prepare your family and home from them.

 

Bureaucracy is Your Friend
Homes built to meet or exceed existing state building codes have a much better chance of standing up to high winds and extreme weather. One noted authority, the Southern Building Code Congress International produces the Standard Building Code, a bible for building for disaster.  While no home on Earth can withstand a direct hit from a severe tornado, excellent construction standards will lend themselves to the likely survival of your home in the wake of disastrous weather.

Inspect your home. Pay attention to windows, doors and the roof. Gables and connections (the transitional areas between roofs and walls, and walls to the foundation) are especially potential pressure points in a high wind situation. People who live in inland regions should be especially concerned. While coastal area builders construct homes with high winds in mind by default, some builders may skimp on these reinforcements in more landlocked regions of the US.

The good news is, if you are competent with the hammer and saw, “Do-It-Yourself” is a valid option. More fundamental repair to the structure of the home may require a contractor, and may even demand the services of a professional architect or engineer.

Outside there is plenty you can do to reduce risk of damage in a violent wind. For example, rock and gravel landscaping can be easily replaced by shredded park. The aesthetics are just as nice, if not even more pleasant, and represent a much-diminished threat to nearby structures. Good upkeep if your lawn and garden can make a significant difference, as well. Well-trimmed trees and shrubbery prunes weaker branches and prevents them from falling on your rooftop.

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Remodeling Cues
For those that live in coastal areas, impact-resistant window systems and storm shutters are commonplace. Even if no one offers these in your area, you can always look for big box hardware chain stores in large cities along the Gulf Coast who will certainly be happy to ship them to you (Houston, New Orleans, Mobile, and Miami come to mind). It may not hurt to read our articles about hurricane preparation as well, as much of the same advice applies.

Entry doors should have at least three hinges and a dead bolt lock with the bolt at least an inch long. Doorframes should be securely anchored to the wall.

Patio doors (and by patio doors, I mean the sliding glass variety) are about the most wind vulnerable pieces of hardware you can attach to your home short of a television antenna, satellite dish or solar panel. You can replace these with impact resistant systems that use laminated glass or plastic glazing.  You can also consider building retractable storm siding.

Garage doors are especially vulnerable to the ravages of high winds, especially if they are more than eight feet wide. A good inspector can let you know if the door and track system are up to specifications. A qualified inspector, or even the manufacturer of the door in question can make recommendations temporary center supports to use in case of an emergency, or for a permanent solution, wood or metal stiffeners.

When replacing a roof, take extra steps to make sure the work will stand up to high winds. You or your contractor should remove old covering down to the bare wooden sheathing, and then, remove the sheathing to be certain that the rafters and trusses are well connected to the walls.

Any damaged sheathing needs to be replaced, and any existing sheathing needs to refastened in accordance with building codes in high wind areas. The roof covering itself should be one designed to resist high winds.

You can add extra protection from moisture by sealing all roof-sheathing joints with self-adhesive rubberized asphalt tape. In between roofing’s, you can still add protection to your roof sheathings. You can re-glue the sheathing to your rafters and trusses. Just be sure you use adhesive that conforms to the Engineered Wood Association Performance Specification AFG-01. You’ll find such an adhesive at any hardware or home improvement store.

For gables, you will want to brace the end wall of a gable roof up to the standards of the building code for a high wind region. Consult the code. For guidance, seek the counsel of a good architect or engineer.

The connecting points where the foundation and roof meet your walls are an important weak link in a building’s construction that will need reinforcing to adequately resist the pressure from high winds. Use metal clips and straps to anchor the walls to the roof (easy to do when replacing the roof). For anchoring the walls to the foundation, you will need a qualified design professional to determine if your joints need retrofitting. A contractor, working in tandem with the design professional, can perform the work.

Multiple story homes will need to be examined to be certain that upper storey wall framing is well connected to the lower floor framing.

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Here It Comes
There’s never such a thing as a tornado-proof home. You can certainly do a great deal to secure it, and vastly improve your odds, but you will still need to make provisions for your safety in the event of a tornado strike.

Always have a disaster plan in place. If you have no storm cellar or qualified “safe room,” your first priority in planning, is to consider a run to a neighbor’s cellar (make sure your neighbor agrees to this plan) or community shelter. If time doesn’t permit that, you’ll need to follow the advice in our article on what to do in the event of a tornado, and seek the lowest point as possible in your home, away from windows, with as much distance, and as many walls possible between you and the outside.

It is imperative to build or purchase a solid emergency kit, with such items as a three-day supply of food and water, weather radio, flashlight, baby items, toiletries and other necessities for human dignity. It’s good to include copies of important documents. Alternatively, you can do this online with Pameno’s Archive service, and double your protection again by registering your license and credit cards and other essential accounts in our Secure Wallet service.

In closing, I’d recommend reviewing your homeowner’s (or renter’s) policy with you insurance agent to make sure you have the needed coverage to rebuild your home and life should calamity encroach upon your life.