Dear Tom,
I know that it is not considered a good idea to take shelter in a car when there is a tornado. However, we live in a house without a basement. Wouldn’t taking shelter in our car inside our garage be safer than sheltering in a bathroom in the center of the house?
— Linda Olson
Dear Linda,
The general rule in tornado safety is to put as many walls between you and the tornado as possible. You do not mention where your garage is located — is it attached to your house or free-standing? — but either way, the safest location is in an interior bathroom or interior closet.
Houses tend to be destroyed from the outside inward during a tornado, and consequently the safest place is on the ground floor as close to the interior of the structure as possible. Crouch as low as possible, facedown. And try to cover yourself with thick padding (a mattress, blankets, etc.) to protect from falling debris.
