Tornado watch in effect until 11 p.m.

The weather system expected to move through the area tonight could spawn tornadoes.

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch until 11 p.m. for 26 North Carolina counties, including Onslow and Carteret.

A tornado watch means that conditions are favorable for a tornado to develop. A tornado warning means a twister has either been spotted or detected on radar and people should seek safe shelter.

The other counties under the tornado watch are Beaufort, Bertie, Brunswick, Camden, Chowan, Craven, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Gates, Greene, Hertford, Hyde, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, New Hanover, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Pitt, Tyrrell and Washington.

Here are some tornado safety tips from the Onslow County Emergency Services Department:

• The safest place to be during a tornado is underground in a basement or storm cellar. If you have no basement, go to an inner hallway or to the center of a smaller inner room without windows, such as a bathroom or closet.
• Listen to the radio, local television, weather channel or a NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) radio for information.
• Mobile homes, even those with tie-downs, are particularly vulnerable to damage from high winds. Go to a prearranged shelter when the weather turns bad. If no shelter is available and a tornado warning for your area is issued, go outside and lie on the ground, if possible in a ditch or depression. Use your arms to protect your head and neck and wait for the storm to pass.
• Never try to outrun a tornado in a car. If you see a funnel cloud or hear a tornado warning issued, get out of your vehicle and find safe shelter. If no shelter is available, lie down in a low area using your arms to cover the back of your head and neck.

Danger signs:

•  If there is a watch or warning posted, hail should be considered as a real danger sign.
• An approaching cloud of debris can mark the location of a tornado, even if a funnel is not visible.
• Before a tornado hits, the wind may die down and the air may become very still.
• Tornadoes generally occur near the trailing edge of a thunderstorm. It is not uncommon to see clear, sunlit skies behind a tornado.