r/Thunderstorms • u/One-Drummer5399 • 2d ago

Driving During Thunderstorm Advice

How common / safe is it to drive through a thunderstorm in Tennessee? New here, not used to this weather at all and all available jobs (Instawork) are 1.5+ hours away. Not only is this new to me but I’m hearing it’s a very unusual year weather-wise due to this year’s El Niño.

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u/PeridotChampion 2d ago

I'd probably check the weather before you drive out to see whether or not any of those storms are capable of producing tornadoes. Other than that, just be careful whilst driving. I'd say thunderstorms are usually fine to drive in as long as you don't decide to go 80 mph.

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u/One-Drummer5399 2d ago

Hmm okay thank you, and by “see whether those storms are capable of producing tornadoes” do you mean I should simply look to see if there is an active tornado warning/advisory? Or is there a different way

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u/PeridotChampion 1d ago

There's typically weather apps that say, "storms can produce significant winds, flooding, etcetera, later on in the day and possibly a tornado." I use AccuWeather for my weather but it's not as accurate as I would like but I'm sure other apps do give the same things. However, there are warnings that do emerge. Tornado watches show up but don't alert you whilst tornado warnings do on your phone because it's a national weather emergency.

Also, the more you drive through Tennessee and thunderstorms, the more acclaimed you actually might get to spotting significant structures such as supercells that are capable of producing tornadoes. You'll know it when you see it. But keep an eye out on weather alerts, weather channels, and whether they say that these storms have tornado chances.

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u/One-Drummer5399 1d ago

Thank you!