By Tim MacWelch

Twisters can happen day or night, any day of the year – but spring marks the official kickoff to tornado season, with April, May and June being the most active months. So what do you do if the howling winds come for you? Read on, my friend.

If you’re in a house with a basement: By all means, go in the basement and crawl under some kind of sturdy protection. This could be a heavy table, work bench, a mattress or whatever. Stay keenly aware of the position of heavy objects (like refrigerators, waterbeds, pianos, etc.) on the floor above the basement, and don’t hang out under those spots. Don’t stay near windows or sliding glass doors.

If you’re in a house with no basement, a dorm, or an apartment: Stay away from the windows. Go to a bathroom, closet, or a space under the stairs on the lowest floor. Failing that, get to an interior hallway with no windows. Alternately, jumping into a bath tub may offer partial protection, but cover up with some sort of thick padding like a mattress or several blankets, to cushion you from falling debris.

In a mobile home – Run for your life! No mobile home or trailer is as safe as a permanent, sturdy building (or a storm cellar). If you live in trailer or similar dwelling, make tornado evacuation plans ahead of time, by selecting a nearby permanent structure for your shelter site. Even small tornadoes can destroy tied-down mobile homes. Don’t take any chances.

In a church, theater, mall or large store – seek shelter as quickly as possible to an interior bathroom, storage room or some similar small enclosed area. This should also be away from any windows. I once got notice that there was a nearby tornado while I was shopping in a large home improvement store. The management made the right call, by ushering all of the staff and customers to the back of the store and away from the large front windows. I hung out by the bathtubs, just in case things went bad. Thankfully, they didn’t.

At school – follow the staff’s instructions. This should be to go to an interior hall or room. Avoid windows and large open spaces like gyms and auditoriums.

By Tim MacWelch

Fighting the cold? Need help cooking? Don’t underestimate the power of hot rocks! Stones can hold a lot of heat, and radiate that warmth for a long time when properly insulated. Start with rocks from a high, dry area. Never use rocks from a wet area. They may have trapped moisture which can cause them to explode when heated. Avoid glasslike or crystal filled stones. Don’t use slate or shale either. These are prone to explosion and breakage near heat. Just grab some plain old ugly rocks from a high dry location, heat them up and enjoy the results.

Hello spring. Hello storm season. Spring is a temperamental time of year that has a tendency toward instability, a time that is susceptible to severe weather outbreaks. For outdoorsmen and women, it's also prime time to get out and enjoy the great outdoors. But what happens when a severe storm pops up and surprises you while you're outdoors? Survival guru Tim MacWelch tells Jim and Trav there are precautions that should be taken in different weather events for your safety.

As the old rhyme goes, “April showers bring ticks and disease carrying insects”, or something like that. It’s true, spring has sprung and as nature comes back to life, vegetation begins to grow and animals awaken, plus the population of insects and pests also comes roaring back with irritating fury. Tim MacWelch, author of The Ultimate Bushcraft Survival Manual, says that outdoorsmen and women need to be aware of the potential dangers that lurk in the great outdoors in order to better protect themselves this spring.