I was boondocking near some truckers in El Paso Il last wk w/ my little sob rocking w/ the wind and rain when the tornado alarm went off w/ a vengeance. I ran into a nearby hotel and sat w/ many other 'roadies' for a couple hours til the all clear. The tornado did touch down in that community, so I was glad to have a shelter. What's the conventional advice? Get out of the vehicle, get to a strong structure away from windows, or in a ditch if nothing else? anyone experienced? (I am from Barth's home state so I have some experience) thanks, jerry

Up here in Illinois they say to head inside to the lowest level of the structure, to stay clear of windows and to stand under a doorway or crawl under a table if possible. Inside doorways are typically reinforced and a stronger part of the building framing.

If you are outside you should abandon your vehicle and had for a ditch or the lowest point around.

Jerry you were only about 12 miles north of me during that storm, I'm guessing last Wednesday night? I was driving home and all the warnings were going out... I saw the funnel cloud just a few miles from my house, but luckily it never touched down (on top of me) and dissipated before doing any damage. That was the first time I've really felt I could be caught in the open (and reluctant to head home, toward the storm) during tornado activity. If I was going to jump out of my car and into a ditch, that would have been the day... thankfully it didn't come to that! It was eerily quiet outside once I got home and I was sure we'd get hammered at any point, but it passed over with a whisper.