(HealthDay News) -- When a tornado is headed for your home, it's important to take shelter immediately in the safest possible spot.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers these tornado safety tips:

• Stay away from all windows.
• The safest place in any home is a basement.
• If you do not have a basement, go to the lowest floor, away from any windows. This space may be a bathroom, closet or hallway.
• Position yourself under a sturdy piece of furniture, such as a table or bench.
• Cover your body with a blanket or mattress and use something to protect your head.
• Avoid having a very heavy object, such as a piano or refrigerator, directly above you. The object could fall through the floor.