LEWISBURG, Pa. — As we head into the warmer months, Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania could see a lot more severe weather, such as tornadoes and thunderstorms. That's why meteorologists with the National Weather Service in State College are using Severe Weather Awareness Week to help keep people safe.
"That covers things like severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, flash flooding, and then what to do when you receive a warning in terms of sheltering and knowing what a warning looks like and how to get them from the National Weather Service," said Jonathan Guseman, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in State College.
Meteorologists say severe weather is most common during the warmer seasons, but it can happen at any time of year.
"August, September, even into October we're fair game for severe weather really any day in that point, even in the winter. We can get it in the winter, usually not the dead of winter, but kind of the start or end of winter, we can certainly see thunderstorms that become strong or severe then," said Guseman.
Experts say the best way to protect yourself is to plan a day or two before severe weather approaches.
"Typically, our thunderstorms are going to be in the afternoon and evening. There's some outside occurrences where we get them overnight, but usually the stronger ones are going to be afternoon and evening, so checking early on in the day and then making sure you have somewhere safe to be if warnings are put out and we start seeing severe weather," said Guseman.
Meteorologists say you should never go outside while a strong storm is in the area.
"We get a lot of folks that—say we get a storm that's producing severe weather, and I think a lot of human nature is to initially go out and look at it. That's exactly the wrong thing to do. You want to get inside and get somewhere sturdy, get to shelter," said Guseman.
According to meteorologists, Pennsylvania experiences roughly 30 to 50 days of thunderstorms each year. The Commonwealth also experiences about 15 or more tornadoes annually.
Check out severe weather tips on WNEP’s YouTube channel.