Oklahoma tornado preparedness
Oklahoma sees violent tornadoes most often in spring, and the difference in outcomes usually comes down to where you shelter and whether the warning reached you.
Decide where you shelter, today
Pick the spot now and walk everyone to it, including guests and older relatives.
- Best option is an in-ground cellar or an engineered above-ground safe room
- Otherwise the lowest floor, center of the house, no exterior walls or windows
- Mobile and manufactured homes are not safe in a tornado, so identify a nearby community shelter and the drive time
- Keep helmets, sturdy shoes, and a whistle in the shelter year round
Make sure a 2 a.m. warning wakes you
Outdoor sirens are for people outdoors. Overnight tornadoes need something in the bedroom.
- Turn on Wireless Emergency Alerts on every phone and keep it charged by the bed
- Add a NOAA weather radio with SAME coding for your county
- Follow your local National Weather Service office and a local broadcast meteorologist
- Know the difference: a watch means conditions are favorable, a warning means shelter now
Prepare the house before the season
Late February is a good annual reminder ahead of the spring peak.
- Clear the shelter path and remove clutter from the safe room
- Trim limbs near the roof and secure trampolines, patio furniture, and grills
- Photograph each room and the roof for a claim baseline
- Store documents, medication lists, and a spare set of keys in the shelter
Check the coverage before the claim
Wind and hail deductibles in Oklahoma are often a percentage of the dwelling limit, not a flat amount.
- Find your wind and hail deductible and calculate the dollar amount
- Confirm the dwelling limit reflects current rebuild cost, not the purchase price
- Ask whether roof payouts are replacement cost or depreciated
- Keep a home inventory off-site so you can prove contents losses
Common questions
When is tornado season in Oklahoma?
The main peak runs from April through June, with a secondary rise in the fall. Damaging tornadoes have occurred in every month, so keep the shelter and alerts ready year round.
Is a bathtub safe during a tornado?
An interior bathroom on the lowest floor is a reasonable last resort because of the extra walls and plumbing, but it is not a substitute for a cellar or engineered safe room.
Does homeowners insurance cover tornado damage in Oklahoma?
Standard policies cover wind damage, usually with a separate percentage wind and hail deductible. Flooding from the same storm is not covered and needs a separate flood policy.
See where your household stands
The Household Resilience Check scores this dimension along with seven others in about five minutes.
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- Build a 72-hour household emergency kit
- Get your home ready for a multi-day power outage
- Hurricane preparedness checklist for your household
- Earthquake preparedness checklist for your household
- Tornado preparedness checklist for your household
- Flood preparedness checklist for your household
- Wildfire preparedness checklist for your household
- Winter storm and power outage checklist
- Evacuation go bag checklist
- Car emergency kit checklist
- Pet emergency preparedness checklist
- Emergency water and food storage
- Prepare your household for a heat wave
- California earthquake preparedness for households
- Florida hurricane preparedness for households
- Texas winter storm and grid outage preparedness
- Emergency preparedness for renters
- Pacific Northwest earthquake preparedness
- New York City emergency preparedness
- Set up an emergency fund that actually gets used
- Run an annual insurance coverage review
- Document your accounts and passwords for your household