Driving back to her city after visiting a Super Pal in the country recently, Girlawhirl got stuck in a typical summer thunderstorm. It was the kind of storm that everyone hopes for when both the temperature and the humidity levels have reached unbearable levels. But this storm, which seemed to come out of nowhere and intensified rather quickly left Girlawhirl pulled over on the side of the road waiting for it to pass and wondering, as the rain turned to hail and the car was being buffeted by the wind, if she was safe…
• As it turned out, Girlawhirl was right to pull over when the rain was coming down so hard that her windshield wipers couldn't keep up with it. It's never safe to drive in those conditions. She should also have turned on her emergency flashers.
• Driving in a storm when there's lightning is technically safe. Girlawhirl could see lots of lightning in the sky, but it didn't seem to be striking nearby. If that had been the case, she would have been sure not to touch the metal parts of her car, which would conduct the electrical current if her car were hit by lightning.
• When the rain started to turn to hail, Girlawhirl really started to get nervous. She was lucky, the hail was small but she should have looked for an overpass or bridge to park under, to protect her car from the hail. Large hail could not only damage a car, but could have broken the windows, exposing Girlawhirl directly to the storm.
• Here's where it gets a little scary, and where Girlawhirl got lucky: in a hailstorm one must be careful because hail, although it can happen by itself, is usually found falling near a tornado. And a car is not the place to be when there's a risk of a tornado. If she spots a tornado while driving, the best thing to do is find a sturdy building and go inside. If there are none around, experts say to get out of the car and lie facedown in a low-lying area like a ditch away from the car.
• Once she got back on the road, Girlawhirl made sure to drive slowly on the wet roads and stay away from large puddles to avoid hydroplaning. If her car had started to hydroplane, she would have let up on the gas slowly and steered straight until the car regained traction.
Girlawhirl made it home safe and sound, after spending the better part of an hour waiting out the storm. She did hear later that a tornado had touched down about 25 miles from where she had been, breaking windows and leaving homes without power. She had been right to pull over and ride out the storm, but next time she'll be sure to check the weather reports before she starts out for a long drive on a hot, humid summer evening.