Team Sheppard responds to severe weather exercise Published March 14, 2008 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Sheppard held a severe weather exercise March 14 to help prepare Team Sheppard for Texoma's severe weather season. "Tornado's are some of nature's most deadly storms," said a severe weather preparation pamphlet released by the 82nd Mission Support Group. "Spawned from powerful thunderstorms, tornadoes can cause fatalities and devastate a neighborhood in seconds." In case of a real-world tornado, Team Sheppard personnel indoors should go to the buildings pre-identified shelter area, usually an inside room with no windows. Those caught outside or in a vehicle should immediately get to the first floor of a sturdy, nearby building. In the event personnel can't, they need to lie in a nearby ditch, covering their head with their hands; avoid going under overpasses and beware of flying debris. Some signs of a coming tornado include a dark, often greenish sky; large hail; a large, dark and low-hanging cloud, usually rotating; and a loud roar similar to a freight train. The exercise began spinning up at 4:30 a.m. with notifications of severe thunderstorms and culminated with a mock-tornado around 9 a.m. Following the "tornado," members of the emergency operations center staff met to discuss what would be done in a real disaster situation. More information on what to do in the event of severe weather can be found in the pamphlet, located here.