The Red Cross has a new smartphone app for iPhone and Android users that warns when a tornado may be nearby.
“There’s actually an audible alarm that tells you there is a tornado warning where you are or for a location that you’re monitoring," says Sara Kennedy with the Red Cross of Central Texas. "Even if the app’s not open, it's in your pocket, it’s next to your bed, it actually will tell you.”
"That's the kind of information and help that saves lives," Kennedy said, whose organization is among the first to assist victims when a tornado destroys homes.
The app can be set to alert a user if a tornado warning is issued in another area, such as where someone's children go to college or where parents live.
Texas averages 155 tornadoes per year, according to the National Weather Service, more than any other state.
