Avoiding Extreme Weather

As anyone who’s paid attention to Central U.S. weather the last few months knows, it’s been a particularly violent spring across “Tornado Alley.” Midwest storms made national news and reintroduced repeat targets—such as Moore, Okla. Well ahead of the storms and far in front of the inevitable miles of destruction images, Americans coast to coast shared ringside seats of the progressing destruction thanks to the coverage of storm chasers who shared real time some of the clearest videos and still images ever made of in-progress tornadoes. Most images came from a large contingent of ground-pounders but, more than ever before, much of the resulting imagery was captured through the efforts of people aboard aerial platforms, whether helicopter or fixed-wing.

Key Takeaways:

• General aviation pilots must never penetrate severe storms or tornadoes; the safest approach is to remain well behind the storm to avoid extreme turbulence, hail, and high winds.
• Maintain significant distance from storm cores, beyond standard FAA recommendations, as destructive debris and hail can travel dozens of miles, and always stay out of clouds to maintain visual situational awareness.
• Always plan an escape route, such as a 180-degree turn, and utilize up-to-date weather information to make informed decisions about waiting out storms on the ground or diverting to a safer location.

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