Students participate in tornado drill for Severe Weather Preparedness Week

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (WLS) -- Students at Illinois schools participated in a statewide tornado drill Tuesday morning as part of Severe Weather Preparedness Week.

At River Woods Elementary School in Naperville, students crouched in an interior room and covered their heads.

Students in Naperville participated in a tornado drill as part of a state-wide drill for Severe Weather Preparedness Week.

"We want to make sure we do it often to make sure kids have it as a second nature to find safety," Carrie Mask, a fourth grade teacher, said.

Mask also used the drill as a teaching moment.

"We want them to go home and talk about it at home and talk with their parents, know where to go at home if this were to happen," she said.

ABC 7's Larry Mowry had some tips for what to do during a tornado warning.

1. Stay away from the second floor. Most damage occurs on the top floor.

2. Avoid windows, go to basement and get under something sturdy. If there is no basement, go to lowest floor and get into a small interior room like a closet or a bathroom.

3. It's important to have multiple ways to get warnings. From cell phones and weather radios, but you cannot rely on outdoor warning siren alone.

"Important thing to remember is they are outdoor warning sirens. They are meant to be heard outdoors. So we suggest you have a weather radio inside so overnight if you are indoors sounds asleep that siren is not going to wake you up," Jamie Underlen, NWS meteorologist, said.

A training course giving people the ability to spot severe weather before it strikes, and to protect themselves from disaster, was given Monday evening.

The course was part of the Illinois' severe weather preparedness week, which included the statewide drill.

The tornado spotter training course took place in Oglesby, Ill., just west of Ottawa and Naplate where deadly tornadoes struck just six days ago.

A training course was held as part of Severe Weather Preparedness Week to help people spot tornadoes and allow them to get to safety.

"The weather spotters are the boots on the ground. They are the ones who can physically lay eyes on it," said Connie Brooks, Emergency Management Director for LaSalle County.

"It serves as a reminder to be prepared, and that storm spotters are needed for us in the weather service," said Matt Friedlein, National Weather Service meteorologist.