Tornado weather occurs in the Midwest almost every year and the recent tornado warnings have left many residents of Nixa anxious.

“I was very nervous, I was shaking and texting my mom and friends. I was worried that I would not make it and I thought to myself that I should have been more prepared,” said junior Kami Sexton.

Tornadoes can be life-threatening but their dangers can be avoided with preparation and knowledge of Nixa’s tornado procedures. FEMA gyms and tornado safe rooms have been built in Nixa for people to take shelter during tornadoes, though they were not always around.

“The FEMA gyms were built in response to the Joplin tornado. This opened a lot of eyes on public safety both during the school day and after school hours as a centralized location for people to take shelter during tornado warnings and watches,” said Dusty Miller, the Assistant Principal for the Junior High. “If people do not have a safe place in their home (basement, interior room without windows, storm shelter, etc.) they should go to the nearest FEMA storm shelter available through Nixa Public Schools as long as they are within a 15-minute drive.”

To ensure that these shelters are always open when in need, each one has procedures.

“Any time there is a tornado watch, our site coordinators arrive at their designated location and have protocols in place of what to do. Although I am not sure of all of these protocols, I know that at the junior high, we have three coordinators and one of them has the live radar pulled up on their computer at all times. The district also utilizes radio communication to communicate between all buildings and our control room,” Miller said.

Every tornado safe room differs from one another and each serves a varying amount of people. Some shelters are only for schools, and some are for the community. House pets are not allowed in the shelters but service animals are.
“Nixa has a combination of several types of severe weather locations at the different buildings. Some have been funded through FEMA grants. Others have been funded through our community voting on bond issues,” said Zac Rantz, the chief communication officer & safety coordinator for Nixa Public Schools.

Shelters in the Nixa school district:

• Nixa High School: tornado safe room that is school only.
• Nixa Junior High: tornado safe room that is open to the public.
• Inman Intermediate: tornado safe room that is open to the public.
• John Thomas School of Discovery: tornado safe room that is school only.
• Century Elementary: tornado safe room that is school only.
• Espy Elementary: tornado safe room that is school only.
• High Pointe Elementary/Summit Intermediate: tornado safe room that is school only (currently under construction and will be completed in 2025).
• Mathews Elementary: tornado safe room that is open to the public.
• Nixa Early Childhood: high wind shelter that is school only.