[ctbruce]

Originally Posted by sourdough

If you are going thru locations where the weather can be dangerous take precautions;



KNOW what the forecast is for where you are going, what has happened in front of it and what is going to happen as you go through.



DO change your route to avoid bad storms. They come on you in an instance and can be devastating in just as short a time.



DELAY departures that will put your course in line with bad weather. Many times I've stayed over a day or two to avoid driving through something that might endanger us.



WATCH the clouds and their movement. You can see bad stuff coming but you have to pay attention and know "rain" clouds from a potential "funnel" cloud.



As was said, most campgrounds in tornado prone areas have a designated "safe" area. If you are in that place ask if the info is not posted.



Do not think that the RV is a place to "hunker" down. I've seen what a tornado does to an RV - but I had to be told what it was. Always look for a safer place. I'd rather jump in a ditch or crawl in a culvert than sit in the RV.



Face into the wind or pull in the slides? I've never done either because where I've been, by the time it hits there's no telling 1) what direction the wind is actually going to hit you and 2) once it's that bad I'm not trying to get DW and myself blown somewhere trying to reposition the RV. I suppose pulling in the slides "might" be of some benefit in a bad situation, but, if it is bad enough for me to have to pull in the slides to keep the RV from "going over there", I've already left it and checked into a motel.



In the midwest/southwest/tornado alley remember that thunderstorms can actually tear the heck out of stuff. Golfball/softball size hail can be devastating. My daughter took a brand new 89 Mercury Cougar XR7 to Walmart on a day we had thunderstorms....but, the thunderstorm decided to slam tennis ball hail down at the Walmart location. She had to stay in the store and the storm passed (15 minutes?), went out and the car was totalled. Brought it home to me (she was a sophomore) with the rear view mirrors broken and hanging down, windshield busted, back window cracked and the body, well, destroyed. That's a "thunderstorm" and remember, in my part of the country a steady 30-40 mph wind with gusts to 50 isn't unusual. The last few weeks we had days where the wind was 81 and 88 mph - just run of the mill spring. Tornado watches are just an fyi - be alert. Tornado warnings mean there is/has been one in your vicinity - much more urgent and when knowing how to read the clouds comes in handy.



Not trying to scare you - you will be fine I'm sure. The really bad stuff is not frequent and everything else just requires you to be aware, take the time to know what's happening around you and your destinations, adjust and "have fun". Wishing you a safe and happy trip; you're going to go through/to some awesome places.

This x2. Excellent advice on how to handle the weather issues that will come up.