CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Spectrum News is helping you stay weather aware through Severe Weather Preparedness Week.

According to the National Weather Service, 48 tornadoes touched down in North Carolina in 2020. One of those ripped through Charlotte in February 2020.

Riley Williamson, a senior at South Mecklenburg High School, was at school when the tornado alerts started going off.

“I’d just come back from lunch, and as soon as we got into the building and got into our classroom, it just started pouring down rain. Everyone’s phones started going off getting alerts, like 'tornado warning, flash flood warning, watch out,' ” Williamson says. “The siren went off, and so we went into the hallways, and at first we were like, 'it’s not going to hit us, it never hits us.' ”

In a nearby neighborhood, trees were toppled, and power lines snapped as the tornado ripped through. Williamson says at school, students started to realize this wasn’t a drill.

“We were just kind of hanging out in the hallways, then the teachers were like, 'guys it's close, like you need to get into position,' ” she says. “So we got into position, and we were in position for about 10 minutes.”

Williamson says she thinks schools should do more tornado drills so the next time the siren sounds, students don’t hesitate to get in safe positions.