Commerce, CA - May 01: An aerial view of Commerce rail yard of trucks, trailers, containers, and trains moving goods in Commerce Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Most of the United States is at some risk for severe weather, wind and tornadoes, not just in Tornado Alley, so it is important that businesses understand the risk, develop preparedness and mitigation plans, and take action. Doing so will not only increase the safety of employees and customers, but it will help you remain in business after disasters such as tornadoes strike.

Maintaining business continuity is important for you, and when you are able to continue operations after a disaster, you will improve your community’s ability to recover as well.

When a severe storm cell forms over one of your regional warehouses, or a flash flood warning is issued near a distribution hub three states away, what does your organization do in the next 15 minutes? For multi-site enterprises, that question is not hypothetical — it is a recurring operational challenge that demands a coordinated, real-time answer. AccuWeather's SkyGuard® was built precisely for that moment.

Understand the risks of severe weather to your business

Storm preparedness starts with understanding the specific risks associated with your geographical area. Develop targeted strategies tailored to your business’s unique vulnerabilities and establish a plan to help ensure the safety of your employees.

-- Identify specific weather-related risks at your business location.

-- Assess the vulnerability of your property to severe weather events.

-- Analyze insights from historical storm data.

-- Evaluate the potential effects on the workforce before, during and after a storm.

-- Consider possible impacts on property accessibility, emergency response, supplies and power.

-- Recognize the presence of valuable and/or weather-susceptible materials on the property.

Mitigate storm risks to your business

Worker safety

-- Establish, document and communicate clear safety protocols for employees.

-- Conduct regular training sessions on evacuation routes, safe shelter locations and how to stay informed through reliable weather updates.

Emergency power backup

-- Install backup power systems to ensure that critical operations can continue during power outages, including generators and uninterruptible power supply systems.

-- Ensure that data storage systems have reliable backup mechanisms.

Supply chain resilience

-- Evaluate and strengthen your supply chain by identifying alternative suppliers and establishing contingency plans.

A Unified Platform Built for Scale

SkyGuard® provides enterprises with a single, centralized platform that monitors weather conditions across every location in their portfolio — simultaneously. Rather than relying on each site manager to track weather independently and escalate when they feel it is necessary, SkyGuard® pushes location-specific alerts directly to the people and teams who need them, at the moment they need them.

AccuWeather’s SkyGuard®Severe Weather Warnings

Be proactive with AccuWeather SkyGuard® Severe Weather Warnings with proven Superior Accuracy™ AccuWeather’s SkyGuard warnings deliver hyperlocal, site-specific alerts and warnings with often more advance notice, before severe weather hits, giving you more time to prepare.

As an example of AccuWeather’s proven Superior Accuracy™, for tornadoes, on average, AccuWeather provides 16 minutes of advance notice compared to an average of only eight minutes from the National Weather Service. In some cases, we often provide much more advance notice.

Businesses that invest in AccuWeather’s SkyGuard Severe Weather Warnings also get access to a team of expert severe weather meteorologists, 24x7x365. AccuWeather does not just send you a warning; we confirm that you have received it, so you can make the best weather-impacted decisions for your business every time.

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