CLEVELAND — Ohio averages 21 tornadoes per year, but prior to Tuesday, 19 had already touched down across the state in 2024.

What You Need To Know

  • Ohio is only two tornadoes away from its annual average 

  • It's important to talk to children about plans for severe weather 

  • Tornadoes predicted to hit during the school day make it difficult for school officials  

The increased amount of severe weather makes it tough on parents as they try to prepare their kids for what may happen.

With the recent severe weather, it’s important for parents to talk to their children about it.

That conversation likely changes depending on how old they are, but in many cases, it’s important for them to know what the plan is if severe weather strikes.

Sometimes they may be at home, other times they’re at school.

While there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but clinical psychologist, Dr. Jane Timmons-Mitchell, said it’s important for parents to know what your plan is before the severe weather arrives, and that they communicate that plan with their children. 

“The other thing that is really great about having a safety plan like that is that it helps you to model calm, which is probably the most important thing. You really need to communicate to your children that even though this may seem very difficult right now, that we know what to do and we will get through it,” Timmons-Mitchell said.

Timmons-Mitchell said fewer words are better when having a conversation with children about severe weather. She said it’s best to know what you need to say ahead of time. 

Meanwhile, school districts are often faced with a decision whether they should cancel classes, delay the start or dismiss early.

Kenna Haycox with the Ohio School Boards Association said school boards adopt a policy that leaves it up to the superintendent to make the decision for closures or early release. The superintendent then works with their local emergency management team to determine what to do. 

“Districts are required to instruct students on what to do in case of severe weather so in this case we’re talking about maybe severe weather of tornadoes so they’re required to instruct them on that and do drills so they know what to do in their building or where they might be if there were a case of severe weather when they were in school,” Haycox said.

Haycox said the school district will then take the recommendation from local authorities and decide what to do about transportation. She said school bus drivers are trained to know what to do during severe weather when they’re out on the road.