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.) |
Source:
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