Severe weather and camping go together like ice cream and motor oil. Okay, that’s a pretty horrible analogy, but I’m trying to emphasize that RVs and emergency weather are not a good combination.

It’s obvious but it bears repeating. After a while, we tend to treat our “homes on wheels” as homes, and technically they are homes – but that doesn’t make them safe. I have yet to encounter an RV with a basement.

We’ve experienced a few harrowing storms while camping in our Airstream. Sure, a little rain is nice. Even a powerful rainstorm with heavy rain can be pleasant.

But a windstorm? That’s a different ball of wax. Suppose a tree gets blown into your RV? (Check out our video for the likely result.)

What about floods? It may sound bizarre, but many campers have encountered flash flooding. As you might imagine, RVs don’t fare too well when pitted against torrential waves of water.

I have somewhat fond memories of the lightning storm we experienced on the Gulf coast of Florida, when a gust of wind snapped our ceiling fan cover COMPLETELY OFF the camper in a torrential downpour. We taped a plastic bowl to the ceiling to keep our interior dry.

I have much LESS fond memories of the storm we survived in Michigan. The two words no camper ever wants to hear: tornado warning.

Sure, RVs are comfortable, cozy, and fun. They’re a fine and adventurous method of seeing America. In most everyday situations, they are totally safe. But they are NOT storm worthy.

Although my natural instinct is to find humor in any situation, this is one topic that calls for some seriousness. In recent years there have been tragic instances where weather (both floods and tornadoes) has devastated campgrounds, killing people in the process.

That’s why we got a weather radio. Note that ours cost about $50, but you can find units for much cheaper (less than $20). These small handheld ones would probably do the trick; I forked over a little extra cash for the AM/FM functionality and SAME alerts. While a weather radio won’t exactly protect you from bad weather, at least it gives you fair warning. It will also keep you updated as events unfold.

Your best strategy, really, is to ALWAYS have some sort of idea WHERE TO GO in the event of severe weather. You need a PLAN OF ACTION, and you need to formulate it ahead of time. Most (albeit not all) campgrounds have some sort of brick-and-mortar shelter that will be safer than any RV. The downside is that you may be spending a few hours, or even an evening, in a laundry room or the like. But considering the alternative, it’s the wise course of action.

If the campground does not have adequate shelter, you need to find out what the community provides. Most communities have some sort of freely available storm shelter for citizens.

Again, the key is to think about these issues when you are settling in to your campsite. You need to know BEFOREHAND so that you are ready to take action when severe weather strikes. Sometimes these storms pass through at 4:00 AM. When that happens, you need to know what to do.

I’m including a link to our chosen radio in this page. There are MANY different models of weather radio,but to me this one seemed to offer the most features for the price. You may prefer a different style, but this one seems to be well regarded by most reviewers:

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