TORNADO MYTHS & TORNADO REALITY



TORNADO MYTHS & TORNADO REALITY 

|1.  When traveling by car seek shelter under an overpass.  |

|(FALSE: The number one priority in tornado safety right now is to discourage people from seeking shelter under overpasses.  Wind currents are concentrated |

|as they are squeezed under the overpasses and are increased in speed.  This increased speed with flying debris INCREASES the risk of injury or death.  Check|

|out this report in USA TODAY, "Overpasses are Deadly").  |

|  |

|2.  Mobile homes attract tornadoes.  |

|(FALSE:  Mobile homes are not more likely to be hit, they are just more vulnerable to wind damage). |

|    |

|3.  Cities/hills/rivers deflect or inhibit tornadoes.  |

|(FALSE:  Tornadoes have been observed crossing the Appalachian Mts., 30 significant tornadoes have crossed the Mississippi river and major tornadoes have |

|plowed right through Dallas, Kansas City, Omaha, etc. In August 1999 a tornado went right through downtown Salt Lake City SEE REPORT) |

|   |

|4.  We should open windows if a tornado is approaching.  |

|(FALSE:  STAY AWAY from all windows. It won't make any difference whether the windows are open or closed IF your home is struck by a tornado). |

|    |

|5.  The southwest corner of the house is the safest location during a tornado.  |

|(FALSE:  Always go to the lowest level and center of house during a warning.  A small interior room like a bathroom is structurally the strongest.  Cover |

|your head!). |

|    |

|6.  Deaths from tornadoes are more likely in the Southeastern U.S. than here in the Great Plains.  |

|(TRUE:  Partly due to: population concentration, lack of basements, also diurnal timing, and higher concentration of mobile homes). |

|    |

|7.  There are small U.S. regions of unexpected high tornado frequency and areas with unexpected low frequency of tornadoes.  |

|(TRUE:  There are several "holes" in the map of tornado distribution and small regions of extreme concentration.  Hall County has a tornado density of 124.5|

|tornadoes per 1000 sq. miles however, Lancaster County only has 35.8 tornadoes per 1000 sq. miles  and Dodge County only has 35.5 tornadoes per 10000 sq. |

|miles).  |

|    |

|8.  Tornadoes, like lightning, never strike twice.  |

|(FALSE:  Guy, Arkansas has been hit 3 times by a tornado damaging the same church each time.  AND, Cordell, KS had a tornado hit it on May 20th >>> 3 years |

|in a row!! -- 1916,1917,1918). |

|    |

|9.   Tornadoes are the number one weather killer in the U.S.  |

|(FALSE:   1960-1996 total fatalities:   flash floods:  4629;  lightning:  3221;  tornadoes:  2734;  hurricanes:  1104). |

|    |

|10.  The "clash of the seasons" causes tornadoes.  |

|(FALSE:  A temperature contrast is important, but circulation dynamics (shear), upper level support (jet stream) and high moisture content are more |

|important than a temperature contrast). |

|    |

|11.  Reported tornadoes are increasing in frequency.  |

|(TRUE, but, is it real?  It is assumed that since the number of days with tornadoes is NOT increasing nor are the larger tornadoes increasing in number, |

|just the smaller ones, that the increase might be the result of better reporting of the smaller tornadoes). |

|  |

|12.  Annual tornado deaths are decreasing in number.  |

|(FALSE:  Early on in the data record it was true, but during the last decade the fatality rate has leveled off and stopped decreasing.  But, with increasing|

|population, and the rate remaining static, it is actually becoming safer!).   |

|     |

|13.  Tornadoes can rotate clockwise as well as anti-clockwise.  |

|(TRUE:  A few small F-0 and F-1 tornadoes can rotate "anti-cyclonically" (especially late summer, NW flow tornadoes).  Also, rare, small tornadoes can |

|change "morph" from anticyclonic to cyclonic!). |

|    |

|14.  Most tornadoes are the large size that you see on the evening news.  |

|(FALSE:  Most tornadoes are small 50-100 feet wide, travel < 1 mile, last a few minutes.  The large F-4 and F-5 tornadoes combined represent less than 5% of|

|all tornadoes). |

|    |

|15.  Tornado damage is caused by rapid reduction in pressure (leave windows open as tornado approaches).  |

|(FALSE:  Open windows will NOT equalize the air pressure if a tornado strikes.  Damage is caused by wind gusts and flying debris.  Dr. Ted Fujita showed |

|that an open garage causes MORE damage to a house!) |

|    |

|16.  Tornadic thunderstorms produce an above average amount of lightning and and a larger than normal amount of hail compared to non-tornadic |

|thunderstorms.  |

|(TRUE:  Intense updrafts amplify charge separation and electrical build-up as well as increased lifting to freeze layers of supercooled water drops). |

|    |

|17.  Doppler radar will observe ALL tornadoes.  |

|(FALSE:  Doppler, although much more accurate than earlier radar, cannot see the very smallest of tornadoes that are "rope-like" in size, plus due to the |

|curvature of the earth, Doppler radar can only see the upper portions of storms that are more than 60 miles away from the radar). |

|    |

|18.  The movie "TWISTER" with Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton was based on the National Severe Storms Laboratory and University of Oklahoma storm chasers and was|

|therefore, very factual.  |

|(FALSE:  Hollywood produces fantasy.  For reality, check out the many documentaries shown by the Weather Channel, Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, |

|and the IMAX movie, "Storm Chasers"). |

|    |

|19.  Cars are safer than mobile homes during a tornado (with no other shelter available).  |

|(TRUE..FALSE..WELL, MAYBE.  Both are deadly locations but cars might be marginally safer according to researchers.  However, the best advice is to abandon |

|both for shelter!). |

|    |

|20.  Tornado chasing looks like its fun. I should try it!  |

|(FALSE:  It may look like fun, but it is extremely dangerous. Leave the chasing to the professionals and watch their photographs from the safety of your |

|home.) |

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