Abstract: A generally spherical tornado shelter for safely housing and protecting people and things underground in the form of a truncated globe that is formed from a curved sidewall and terminates in a floor at the lower end thereof. A seat member is attached to the sidewall and to the floor and thereby forms a structural member that regidifies the globe. A generally rectangular entrance is formed in spaced relation to the central axis and provides a doorway into the interior of the structure. A plurality of steps lead from the entrance down to the floor and enables people to conveniently walk through the entrance, down the steps, into and back up from the shelter.