Evacuation Plan For Severe Weather

[Gerard]

We are traveling to Florida in the near future and were wondering what we should do if we are in severe weather. We are relatively new RVers and travel with our cat. Should we have a bag packed - and if so - what should be in it? We do have a portable cage to put our cat in but it would need to be assembled first. Any tips would be appreciated.

[chucknewman]

Gerard, welcome to the FMCA forums.

"...were wondering what we should do if we are in severe weather"

Not to appear trite, the answer to that question is dependent on who you ask. We all have our thresholds for driving in bad weather. What is yours?

I enjoy driving in the rain, but not snow and ice -- regardless of vehicle type or size. That said, we recently delayed a trip for one day due to NWS's forecast for "extreme weather" in the area we were in. The next day was sunny and beautiful. We had a great trip. The key for us is keep an eye on the regional and/or national forecasts and travel accordingly.

If you get into a major thunderstorm and can't see the road, pull as far off the road as possible without getting into soft dirt, and keep all you lights on including the emergency flashers.

Various Federal agencies have recommended procedures when encountering flooding, tornadoes, blizzards, etc. And sometimes you just cannot avoid stuff for a variety of reasons. But the more trip planning for impending weather, road conditions, town and rest stop locations, fuel stops, etc. you do will result in minimized exposure to varied dangerous conditions.

[Guest Wayne77590]

As stated, it's not 100% predictable.

With that said, if you are in FL during the hurricane season, be ready to pull up stakes and ride out of town. We live on the Gulf Coast of Texas. With hurricanes you have plenty of waring that they are coming your way. We need to be on the road at least 72 hours before a hurricane hits our area. Why! Well, for Rita we got a 4 hour later start and it took us 15 hours to go 150 miles. Not fun at all, so now we leave 72 hours ahead of time. For Ike, we sailed out of town. There is no way I want to stay in my house, let alone an RV when a hurricane strikes. For Ike, we still go hit where we went with Cat 1 winds, and it was not fun in the MH. We pulled the slides in and rode it out. Then we had 3 days of the generator running before I decided we were going somewhere else with electricity.

Good luck.

[ednmdtravlr]

If you have a laptop computer with web access, add the National Weather Service to your "favorites". Here is the weather service link for the whole country and you can fine-tune it to the area you will be in from this site http://www.nws.noaa.gov/ You can go to the area in which you are traveling and look at the satellite images and warnings. If you put the images into motion, you can tell the direction of the storms and see if heading in your direction.

Another good one is the "weather underground" which is private weather stations (millions and millions!) all around the country (and the world) with NWS forecasts and radar images, plus real-time weather by city, state or zip code. A nice way to keep in touch with your weather "back home", incidentally. Here is the link: http://www.wunderground.com. (If you pay $10 a year, you can get that site with no ads.) Also, get a weather radio which will alert you (even in the middle of the night) if you have a sudden warning. Keep your kitty cage assembled and carry plenty of gas so you are ready to go any time.

Information is your best asset! Stay safe!

[Gerard]

Gerard, welcome to the FMCA forums.

"...were wondering what we should do if we are in severe weather"

Not to appear trite, the answer to that question is dependent on who you ask. We all have our thresholds for driving in bad weather. What is yours?

I enjoy driving in the rain, but not snow and ice -- regardless of vehicle type or size. That said, we recently delayed a trip for one day due to NWS's forecast for "extreme weather" in the area we were in. The next day was sunny and beautiful. We had a great trip. The key for us is keep an eye on the regional and/or national forecasts and travel accordingly.

If you get into a major thunderstorm and can't see the road, pull as far off the road as possible without getting into soft dirt, and keep all you lights on including the emergency flashers.

Various Federal agencies have recommended procedures when encountering flooding, tornadoes, blizzards, etc. And sometimes you just cannot avoid stuff for a variety of reasons. But the more trip planning for impending weather, road conditions, town and rest stop locations, fuel stops, etc. you do will result in minimized exposure to varied dangerous conditions.

Thank you so much for the information. I have driven in snow, sleet, heavy rain, high winds. I don't enjoy that kind of weather and have stopped to wait it out at times. I was wondering if I should have a kit ready in case we have to evacuate the RV. We were in Berrien Springs, Michigan last year when a severe thunderstorm occured. We were in the middle of a field and really didn't know what to do. We have purchased a weather radio (but I must admit we haven't used it yet). We just got back from Florida and drove by a town hit by those awful tornados. Should we have bottled water, our prescriptions, some clothing, money, passports in a bag somewhere? How many days should we allow for? Sorry it took me so long to reply, I'm not very good at using the computer and it took me a while to figure out how to get back to you.

[Gerard]

If you have a laptop computer with web access, add the National Weather Service to your "favorites". Here is the weather service link for the whole country and you can fine-tune it to the area you will be in from this site http://www.nws.noaa.gov/ You can go to the area in which you are traveling and look at the satellite images and warnings. If you put the images into motion, you can tell the direction of the storms and see if heading in your direction.

Another good one is the "weather underground" which is private weather stations (millions and millions!) all around the country (and the world) with NWS forecasts and radar images, plus real-time weather by city, state or zip code. A nice way to keep in touch with your weather "back home", incidentally. Here is the link: http://www.wunderground.com. (If you pay $10 a year, you can get that site with no ads.) Also, get a weather radio which will alert you (even in the middle of the night) if you have a sudden warning. Keep your kitty cage assembled and carry plenty of gas so you are ready to go any time.

Information is your best asset! Stay safe!

I guess we're going to have to get into the 21st century. We don't travel with a computer as we are not computer literate to say the least. That's on our "to do" list since we hope to one day have a nice long trip. It would be nice to see what the weather is like back home and in the surrounding areas. We also have to set up and use the weather radio we bought. We try to find a radio station that has news and weather on it but that is not always possible. I have written down those websites for future use and really appreciate the time you took to answer my questions. Thank you!

[Gerard]

As stated, it's not 100% predictable.

With that said, if you are in FL during the hurricane season, be ready to pull up stakes and ride out of town. We live on the Gulf Coast of Texas. With hurricanes you have plenty of waring that they are coming your way. We need to be on the road at least 72 hours before a hurricane hits our area. Why! Well, for Rita we got a 4 hour later start and it took us 15 hours to go 150 miles. Not fun at all, so now we leave 72 hours ahead of time. For Ike, we sailed out of town. There is no way I want to stay in my house, let alone an RV when a hurricane strikes. For Ike, we still go hit where we went with Cat 1 winds, and it was not fun in the MH. We pulled the slides in and rode it out. Then we had 3 days of the generator running before I decided we were going somewhere else with electricity.

Good luck.

Living in Ontario, Canada, we don't have many hurricanes and I must admit I don't ever want to experience one. They say to get out of your vehicle and lay flat in a ditch and protect your head with your arms. I'd rather get out of town before it arrives. We do try to keep the gas tank topped up and will be even more vigilant now. I'd like to know I have plenty of gas in case we have to leave and also use the generator for an extended period. Should we keep the fresh water tank topped up as well? We tend to fill it half full to decrease the weight. We really appreciate the information you have given us.

[bizsmith@yahoo.com]

Most rest rooms at state parks in Florida are concrete wall construction and designated as storm shelters. This is probably best for severe thunderstorms.

During hurricane season, you would likely have enough warning to evacuate to a safe area with your rig.

[tbutler]

It seems everyone thinks of hurricanes when you mention Florida. Florida also has severe thunderstorms and tornadoes as well as wildfires. There are other emergencies that can visit your motor home and you should consider these in your travel planning any time you leave home.

We've had to pack up on short notice several times. In both cases we were able to get the motor home ready to go in an hour. One time was a forest fire in California approaching our campground. It was put out before it threatened us. The second was a severe thunderstorm and flood warning in Indiana. The campground was on low ground with a creek near flood running adjacent to the campground. We did evacuate that campground when we saw the owners were moving some of the permanently parked trailers to higher ground. There will be occasions when you can't take time to organize and get ready to go and you have to flee the motor home. A sudden storm with little or no notice, flash floods, a fire in a nearby RV when you are in an RV park, a fire in your own motor home, a gas leak in your motor home, etc.

Regarding any of these emergencies, having a kit ready to leave the motor home is always a good idea. I've heard of people who had an emergency and had to exit the motor home immediately. They grab what hits their mind as important at the time only to realize later that in the panic they left the the really important things in the motor home and they are carrying something that really isn't that important. To avoid this, sit down and make a list of things that you would want to save in case of emergency. Prioritize the list in order of importance and then start at the top of the list putting those things in an evacuation kit. When the kit gets too large to handle then the rest of the items would have to be replaceable or expendable. You may choose to keep some items in a fireproof safe rather than trying to evacuate with them.

You would want to have important papers, personal documents such as drivers license, passport, cell phones, wallets and purse, etc. and any valuables to the extent you might be able to carry them. The most important items to get out of the motor home in an evacuation of course are yourself and your spouse, children and the cat. Then if all the things I mentioned above are packed in a convenient emergency kit (perhaps a duffel or backpack), you can grab those things on the way out the door. You don't want to be running around trying to grab things before you exit the motor home. So if you are driving or parked and you want to be ready to save what you can at all times, the important stuff should be kept in a kit ready to go. Keep the kit by the exit door.

What you put in the kit is your decision. In most cases I wouldn't worry about survival materials like water or food unless you are in a real remote area. Otherwise you should be able to make a phone call and get help if needed. You can never prepare for every possible emergency, you may be awakened some night and have to go out the bedroom window in your PJ's! Those who are prepared will always fare better than those who are not.