Williamsburg-James City County Schools and York County Schools have cancelled all after-school activities and athletics in light of a tornado watch over the Historic Triangle.
The watch is in place until 7 p.m. All activities, including Back-to-School nights and sporting events, that were scheduled for today, Sept. 18, have been cancelled.
A watch is less severe than a warning. To check the status of a storm, log on to the weather service’s website.
Showers and thunderstorms are expected throughout the night.
The average tornado moves from southwest to northeast, but tornadoes can move in any direction and can suddenly change direction of motion. Tornadoes form when winds change direction before a thunderstorm, creating an invisible, horizontal spinning effect. Rising air within a thunderstorm tilts the rotating air up vertically; it is within that rotation that tornadoes typically form.
Here are some tornado safety tips from the National Weather Service:
• The safest place in a tornado is an underground shelter, basement or safe room, windowless interior room or hallway.
• If you are in a vehicle, immediately seek shelter in a study building. As a last resort, you can either stay in the car with the seat belt on, covering your head with your hands and a blanket, if possible, or you can exit the car if you can get to an area noticeably lower than the level of the roadway. Lie down in that area, covering your head with your hands. A highway overpass is not a safe shelter during a tornado.
• Mobile homes are not safe in tornadoes. If you live in a mobile home, seek shelter in a sturdy building.
For more severe weather information and safety tips, click here.
