How To Stay Aware Of Severe Weather In The Wilderness
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The weather we're enjoying this week makes living in Minnesota so much fun because we're able to get outside and enjoy lakes, woods and parks.
It's also the time of year when things can change fast, and it's important to remain prepared when heading out to the cabin, lake, camping, or local park.
"If you are in a new place you are not very familiar with that is a good time, when you first get there to ask where the shelters are," Bill Borghoff, with the Twin Cities National Weather Service, said.
First and foremost, you need to know where to go and when.
"That is definitely something that a lot of people ask when they come in because they have been driving around the country,"Jim Hou, with the Minneapolis Northwest KOA, said.
If a tornado or storm watch is issued, that is your heads-up to have a heightened awareness, as a warning could be implemented at any time. A warning means it's time to take shelter, and you need to make sure you have a way to get that warning at all times.
The great thing about a weather radio is you can take them with you anywhere and program them for warnings for that specific area. They are especially useful on the lake, where experienced boaters know you are at the mercy of whatever weather rolls in that day.
"The weather here is crazy, it can be taken to another level, you may be sheltered from the wind on shore but when you are out on the lake you are exposed to the wind, you are exposed to lightning, you are exposed to sheets of rain and visibility will drop low," Captain Jack Lynch, of Paradise Charter Cruises, said.
If caught off guard by a storm head to shore as soon as possible navigating at a slow and steady speed while heading into waves at an angle. Make sure you have a severe weather action plan for your next summer trip. It will help keep you safe and ready for the storm.