Spring marks the beginning of tornado season

Now that tornado season is here, the Charles County Department of Emergency Services encourages residents to be prepared. Tornadoes are violent by nature and capable of completely destroying well-made structures, uprooting trees and hurling objects like deadly missiles. A tornado appears as a rotating, funnel-shaped cloud that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground with whirling winds that can reach 300 miles per hour.

Prepare a home tornado plan

• Pick a place where family members could gather if a tornado is headed your way. It could be your basement or, if there is no basement, a center hallway, bathroom, or closet on the lowest floor. Keep this place uncluttered.

• If you are in a highrise building, you may not have enough time to go to the lowest floor. Pick a place in a hallway in the center of the building.

Watch vs. warning: What’s the difference?

• Tornado Watch — Tornadoes are possible in and near the watch area. Review and discuss your emergency plans, and check supplies and your safe room. Be ready to act quickly if a warning is issued or you suspect a tornado is approaching. Acting early helps to save lives!

• Tornado Warning — A tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar. Tornado warnings indicate imminent danger to life and property. Go immediately under ground to a basement, storm cellar or an interior room (closet, hallway or bathroom). In the open outdoors: If possible, seek shelter in a sturdy building. If not, lie flat and face-down on low ground, protecting the back of your head with your arms. Get as far away from trees and cars as you can; they may be blown onto you in a tornado. Flying debris is the greatest danger in tornadoes.

Signs of a tornado:

• Strong, persistent rotation in the cloud base.

• Whirling dust or debris on the ground under a cloud base — tornadoes sometimes have no funnel.

• Hail or heavy rain followed by either dead calm or a fast, intense wind shift. Many tornadoes are wrapped in heavy precipitation and can’t be seen.

• Day or night — Loud, continuous roar or rumble, which doesn’t fade in a few seconds like thunder.

• Night — Small, bright, blue-green to white flashes at ground level near a thunderstorm (as opposed to silvery lightning up in the clouds). These mean power lines are being snapped by very strong wind, maybe a tornado.

Persistent lowering from the cloud base, illuminated or silhouetted by lightning — especially if it is on the ground or there is a blue-greenwhite power flash underneath.

After a tornado:

Keep your family together and wait for emergency personnel to arrive. Carefully render aid to those who are injured. Stay away from power lines and puddles with wires in them; they may still be carrying electricity. Watch your step to avoid broken glass, nails, and other sharp objects. Stay out of any heavily damaged houses or buildings; they could collapse at any time. Do not use matches or lighters, in case of leaking natural gas pipes or fuel tanks nearby. Remain calm and alert, and listen for information and instructions from emergency crews or local officials.

Residents are urged to register /review their profiles for the latest CNS updates and alerts from Charles County Government, Charles County Public Schools, Charles County Sheriff’s Office and the National Weather Service.

To register for CNS, manage your message settings, provide preferred contact information, and select categories go to, www.CharlesCountyMD.gov/CNS.

For additional information, safety tips and public outreach resources, go to www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/ tornado/safety.html and www.redcross.org/.

Clinic to connect residents with volunteer attorneys

Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Ser vice (MVLS) Cyber Civil Clinic will take place 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, at the Charles County Public Law Library, 200 Charles St., La Plata.

The clinic is designed to reach low-income residents in Southern Maryland. In partnership with the Charles County Public Law Library, MVLS will offer free video chat sessions with volunteer attorneys who will help residents navigate complicated foreclosure proceedings.

For residents who want to participate in the free Cyber Civil Clinic, they can reserve a spot by calling the library at 301-9323322.