With the warm days of spring and summer, everyone will enjoy more leisure driving and outdoor activities.
Nice as these days are, they deserve some cautious respect for the unpleasant conditions they may bring.
* Lightning, beautiful and frightening, can cause plenty of trouble.
If you are outside, find shelter in a building or vehicle. If you are in the open, find a ditch and crouch down with your feet together and hands on your knees.
Avoid isolated trees, high ground, bodies of water, and large open areas. Don't hold a golf club or anything metal, and get off of your bicycle. If you are on water, get to land and find shelter.
* Tornadoes are inevitable in some states, but there are things you can do to protect yourself. A tornado warning means a funnel cloud has been sighted.
Designate someone to watch for a funnel cloud. If one is sighted, get to your emergency place, such as a basement, under a sturdy table or in an interior hall on the lowest floor of your home, away from glass objects.
Away from home, seek shelter in a sturdy building. Stay out of vehicles or mobile homes. Get out from under bridges and overpasses. There are no handholds, and sheltering there can cause extreme injuries and death.
Always listen to weather alerts. If you are caught without shelter in the path of a tornado, nothing you do can help. Don't drive or leave shelter when there are tornado warnings or watches.
* Road construction zones, about 70,000 in the U.S. at any given time, carry risks to those working and to those in vehicles. Drive at the posted speed limit. Don't tailgate. Don't change lanes. Stay alert and be patient and calm.
