North Dakota may not get as many or as strong of tornados as its Tornado Alley neighbors to the south, but when the hard, spinning winds hit, the state's mobile home residents may get hit the hardest.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Sam Walker said winds in a tornado can be in the neighborhood of 100 mph, and a tornado can range from 50 feet to a half-mile across.

"They do occur in this state, and they can be dangerous," he said.

Mobile homes, typically held loosely to the ground, are not strong structures. In other words, they aren't equal foes for a tornado.

"Mobile homes are relatively fragile structures," Walker said.

"They're not going to withstand tornados to the extent that a regular home will," said Bismarck emergency manager Gary Stockert.

In case of a tornado, the weather service and emergency managers suggest mobile home residents plan ahead rather than wait for something bad to happen.

Stockert said only Grand Forks and Minot in North Dakota have designated public shelters for people to go to in case of severe weather. In the Bismarck-Mandan area, mobile home residents are advised to make a plan to go to the secure home of a friend or family member during a tornado watch, Stockert said.

He said he lived in a mobile home for seven or eight years in the Bismarck area. "That's what I had to do, too," he said.

He suggests people invest in a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration radio, which transmits National Weather Service watches and warnings as soon as they are issued. Walker said the radios can be purchased at most electronics stores.

"The key thing, I think, is getting the warning and watch information as soon as possible," Stockert said.

Mobile home residents should relocate during a tornado watch, rather than wait for a tornado warning, emergency managers advise. Atornado watch indicates conditions are right for a tornado to form, and a warning indicates that radar or a weather spotter has seen a funnel cloud.

"The best bet is to have somewhere safe nearby to go," Walker said.

In the case of a tornado, it's best to get out of a mobile home or a vehicle rather than stay inside them, Walker said. Vehicles and mobile homes can be crushed or thrown around by strong winds, he said.

"You're inside something that's going to be coming apart," he said. "In a circumstance like that, you're supposed to find a low spot" outside.

Stockert said the logistics of having public shelters in case of severe weather aren't as simple as they may seem. Schools, large stores and community centers have large-span roofs, which can collapse and cause more harm than good, he said.

Plus, people opening such a shelter to the public may have to put themselves in danger by leaving a secure structure to travel to the shelter, he said. Stockert said having one shelter in a city also means people will have to travel from all corners of the town to get to cover.

"There's a lot of Catch-22 situations," he said. "When you start diving into it, it becomes more complex."

Even in regular homes, people should get to the basement or to inner-most rooms during a tornado, Stockert said. He said bathrooms, where walls are filled with pipes and wires, are typically the best bet.

Burleigh County Emergency Manager Mary Senger said rural mobile home residents may have root cellars to seek shelter in, and they can plan to take cover at a neighbor's home, too. Arrangement between neighbors can carry over to other emergency situations, such as fires, as well, she said.

Senger said the National Weather Service puts on Skywarn training each year, and people can learn to watch the skies for severe weather.

Walker said the training allows people to become weather spotters, who can alert the weather service to severe weather that may have been missed by radar.

"That is always very helpful," he said.

Flooding, lightning and tornados are the deadliest weather events throughout the country, Walker said.

"Whenever a thunderstorm is around, get somewhere safe,"he said.

Senger doesn't know what kind of storms this summer holds.

"We just take it forecast by forecast," she said.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@;bismarcktribune.com.)