May 31, 2013 was like most summer days in Oklahoma — hot and muggy. At 6:03 PM a tornado touched down eight miles southwest of El Reno. By the time it passed by just south of town (along Interstate I-40), it was a 2.5 mile wide monster.

You might be thinking about building your own above-ground tornado shelter. It’s really not recommended unless you’re a professional contractor. If you don’t do it right, you probably won’t have a chance to try again.

Before the 1980s, meteorologists would tell people to open their windows if a tornado was approaching. The belief was that this would keep your house from exploding.

Here are 18 of the most common tornado myths.

How can you be sure that the storm shelter you choose will protect your family from such extreme weather? Look for proof of certification.

Any time strong thunderstorms form, microbursts are a possibility. Because tornadoes and microbursts are so hard to predict, you may have a very short time to seek shelter.

When choosing a storm shelter, be sure to examine the benefits and costs of above-ground versus below-ground models. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Climate change theorists point to severe weather, like tornadoes, as definitive proof of mankind’s effect on the ecology. Meteorologists tell us that improved tools and better forecasting are saving lives when bad storms strike.

But what’s really happening? Who’s right?