Getting your car ready for tornadoes and severe storms

In Tennessee tornadoes can strike at night and with only minutes of warning. What to keep ready in the car, where not to be and what to do if one catches you driving.

In Tennessee severe storms arrive with minutes of warning, not days: hail that wrecks bodywork, wind that flips trailers and tornadoes a car cannot protect you from. Preparation here means knowing where not to be.

Before the season (spring)

• National Weather Service alerts enabled on your phone. They are the difference between 15 minutes and none.
• Decide where the car goes under a hail watch: garage, covered parking at work or the mall. A hail cover costs less than a deductible.
• Comprehensive coverage on your insurance: hail and wind go there, not under liability. Confirm the deductible.
• Trunk kit: flashlight, charger, water, blanket, first-aid kit, documents in copy.
• Photo of all four sides of the car every spring: hail claims are paid per dent.

Under a tornado warning

• A car is not a shelter. Get out and into a sturdy building, lowest floor, away from windows. If there is none, lie in a ditch away from the vehicle and cover your head.
• Never shelter under an overpass: the wind accelerates there.
• If you are driving and the tornado is far and visible, change course at a right angle to its path. If it is close, leave the car.

Hail and wind

• Hail while driving: slow down, lights on, stop under a roof if there is one. Not under a tree.
• Strong wind: firm hands, care when passing trucks and on bridges. Trailers and tall vehicles roll over.
• After a storm: avoid flooded streets and downed wires. A wire on the ground is still live.

After

• Photos of every dent and broken glass before moving the car.
• Insurance claim the same day: after a big hailstorm, body-shop appointments run out in 48 hours.
• Buying used in Tennessee: a car with "repaired hail damage" can be done well (PDR, no paint) or badly (filler and repaint). Ask for before photos and run a paint gauge.