FLAT ROCK, Mich. – Severe weather awareness week continues in Michigan.
While you and your family can do things to prepare for severe weather at home, there’s another place that is also preparing for the season.
This week, students are reviewing severe weather safety skills that can be used at school and at home.
Michigan is no stranger to severe weather, especially tornadoes.
Three tornadoes touched down in Metro Detroit last year, and who can forget the EF-3 Ingham-Livingston County tornado in 2023? That’s why exercises like this are essential for everyone.
“When we’re in class, we stand up, we don’t worry about our chromebooks, we don’t worry about our chairs. We just exit the classroom and get into the hallway as quickly as possible”, says Julie Arnett, 4th Grade Teacher at Barnes Elementary School
Students and teachers at Barnes Elementary School participated in their statewide tornado drill a few days early last week, but severe weather safety is embedded in the classroom curriculum.
Arnett says, “We do reports on extreme weather, so they’re very interested in it. So they are very knowledgeable by fourth grade, especially with the weather opportunities, and it’s a little bit scary that. So that’s why we talk about it.
Even though students are a bit skeptical, faculty and staff say it’s important to train for emergency drills, such as tornado drills.
“You could see how they shuffled them out really quick. The kids knew exactly what to do. Even some of our students that sometimes have a difficult time following directions. They knew exactly what to do because we practice it so much for them”, says Dr. Kristy Solano-Mullins, Principal at Barnes Elementary School.
“Severe weather doesn’t just happen here at school, but it can happen outside of school too, whether they’re at home or in the mall or in a restaurant with their family, and they’ll know exactly what to do, should they be out in public somewhere or at home. They can take care of themselves, and they can tell their families. This is what we’ve learned at school. We’ve learned at school. This is how we can be safe”, Solano-Mullins said.
During a tornado warning, we tell you to go to the lowest floor of your home, such as the basement.
If not a basement, then the interior most portion of your home, such as a closet or a bathroom. Put as many walls between you and the outside as possible.
The same premise applies. While at school, we bring students out of the classroom and into the halls, away from windows, keeping as many walls between them and the outside world as possible.
The skills taught during the Statewide Tornado Drill can be used whether students are at school or if severe weather develops at home.
You might also hear the outdoor warning sirens go off for the statewide tornado drill.
Oakland County says that residents can expect to hear the sirens around 1:00 PM Wednesday in conjunction with the drill.
--> Michigan’s 2025 statewide tornado drill is Wednesday: What to expect and when sirens will go off