TORNADO Question

[underpants]

Last night the Richmond Va. area had a tornado warning-one had been "seen" by radar but there were no reports of anyone seeing one.

A horrible storm came through but I haven't heard of any substantial damage.

On the "Weatherscan" station (on digital TV) in addition to the scroll saying "IF you are driving............." :eyes: it also said "Do not seek refuge below highway overpasses"

Is this standard advise? Where else would you seek refuge if you were in the middle of nowhere?

ALSO

My wife gets up and starts to open a window. I ask her what she is doing and she tells me that you are supposed to do that so pressure doesn't build up and your house (apartment for us) doesn't EXPLODE!

I had never heard of that but I just asked several co-workers and they all said that that is correct.

Is that correct? Are you supposed to open a window so your house doesn't EXPLODE! I told her to close it as I was more worried about debris than the chances of the apartment blowing up.

As a native of Ohio (living there until age 6)I had never heard of either of these.

:shrug:

[GOPisEvil]

1. The windows thing is partially correct.

If the windows are all closed tightly, the pressure differential can cause your windows to blow out, causing glass to fly everywhere. So, cracking the windows slightly helps with that. If you're in a building with sealed windows, move away from the windows and into the interior of the building, on the first floor.

Oh, if you're driving, try to get into a ditch or other low-lying area. Flying stuff is less likely to hit you.

[underpants]

4. Right- now I remember about getting into ditches

and of course the requisite story of the guy from the next town who was in a ditch and his car flipped over on him that either:

saved him

ironically killed him

[Dogmudgeon]

2. No

Having an open window does nothing.

No house built today is airtight enough to explode from the pressure differential of a tornado. The wind will get it first.

--bkl

[underpants]

6. But are people commonly told to do that?

Just wondering.

[Dogmudgeon]

25. It's an old twice-told tale

But believe me, if you're in the center of a tornado, the wind is going to do a lot more damage than the air pressure drop.

They talk about it on The Weather Channel every so often.

Besides, I think the pressure drop in a tornado (when they have been able to measure it) is only down to about 25" Hg -- "normal" is 29.9" Hg.

--bkl

[Loonman]

3. Just try to get as low as you can

Even a depression in the earth will do.

They don't want you to use underpasses because the wind could grab you and smash you against something(girders, overpass roof, pavement below, too many things to smack against).

[UrbScotty]

5. 1. Yes......2. HELL NO

If you are driving when the warning is issued, you should avoid overpasses and bridges because they could be blown down and could kill you.

2. That is complete myth. Opening windows is bad because you allow wind damage to occur.

BTW, while we're at it, the Southwest corner of your basement is NOT the safest place. Go to the middle of your basement, if you can.

[underpants]

9. Thank you

I'm right and I get to rub it in everyone's FACE!

[trotsky]

22. Opening windows is doubly bad.

#1) The massive pressure differential that exists is NOT going to be alleviated by opening all your windows.

#2) The time you spend running around opening all your windows is time you could have spent gathering your family and hiding in a safe spot (a basement room without any windows - under a stairway is perfect).

[Supormom]

7. If you are driving

Get out of the car and find a ditch. Lie down as flat as possible.

[XNASA]

8. I've seen video of people surviving a direct hit....

...by crawling up into the girders of an overpass. But if you're just gonna get underneath an overpass, I don't think it's safe.

I've heard it's best to get into a roadside ditch and lay flat. Not very reassuring, but if you're trapped, you're trapped.

In answer to your second question....the window thing is false, I've been told. I've heard it before, but you're right, the debris is worse than the pressure difference.

[underpants]

11. See post#4- I remember being told that

Geez it's amazing what you forget if it isn't reinforced.

[Dogmudgeon]

26. I've seen it, too.

I think it was an F-0 tornado.

They were lucky. If it had been, say, and F-3, they would have been sliced and diced into hamburger by the debris.

--bkl

[Misunderestimator]

10. Having grown up in Texas...

She's right about the windows, because of the pressure. Better to have the air flowing than the windows breaking. And I've always heard that you should hide in the bathtub with a mattress over you... or in a doorway, where the posts are stable. Not sure on that though.

[GOPisEvil]

12. We had a tornado go over our house once...

...mom and I hid in the bathroom, since it was the only room in the house with no windows. They really do sound like trains, and there is this eery calm right before they hit.

No damage though...it never really touched down.

[underpants]

16. My hometown Xenia Ohio got hit by three at one time

We weren't there at the time but we did spend 15 nights out of one month sleeping between mattresses in the wine cellar the owner of the house had built.

[Misunderestimator]

17. Yes... a very eerie calm.

I was visiting some friends who live near Barrington, MA. When they had those tornadoes that came through some years ago, we were eating dinner, and suddenly, I just had a feeling that something bad was happening. We all went outside and saw debris circulating above us... the skies were orange... we heard a train sound. I said... "Oh god... TORNADOES." They didn't believe me until later when we discovered that trees had been leveled just yards from their house. Barrington was a mess.

[fudge stripe cookays]

13. An INTERIOR doorway.

Away from breaking glass.

Or, yes, the tub.

[underpants]

14. Basement is best after that bathtub/under staircase

in the bathtub with a mattress on top of you. If none of that is available the innermost part of the house. Doorways tend to be the strongest part of the house structure.

[HornBuckler]

15. NEVER Get Under A Highway Overpass

When The Over All Area Of Air Flow Is Reduced (Like The Tunnel/Like Effect Of An Overpass) The Speed Of Air Flow Is Increased. So, The Speed Of Air Moving Under The Pass Is FAR Faster And Damaging Than The Speed Of Air In An Open Environment.

Hold Onto Yer Underpants

[underpants]

18. OKAY I GOT IT!

PRobably shoot my skivvies right down the road huh?

[HornBuckler]

21. Exactamundo

There Was This Special On The Weather Channel - Two Years Back 15 People Died In Oklahoma As A Result Of Hanging Out Under An Overpass - I Don't Have A Link Though

[markdd]

24. Classic Video of Camera Crew Under Overpass...

thought to be cause of OK folks trying same thing and getting killed. There was a trick, the camera crew was actually between the concrete girders and completely out of the airflow. The folks in OK were between the bottom of the bridge and the concrete embankment. Fully exposed to airflow, which can reach well over 300 Mph (as high as 600 Mph?) in that location.

Bottom line, get inside, get down low, stay away from windows and exterior walls.

[gbwarming]

19. Some NOAA info

I was just looking at this stuff last week :) SE Michigan

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/brochures/ttl.pdf
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/index.html#Safety
FAQ snip:
Long ago, I was told to open windows to equalize pressure. Now I have heard that's a bad thing to do. Which is right? Opening the windows is absolutely useless, a waste of precious time, and can be very dangerous. Don't do it. You may be injured by flying glass trying to do it. And if the tornado hits your home, it will blast the windows open anyway.
----------

I've seen a video of people running under a bridge to ride out a tornado. Is that safe? Absolutely not! Stopping under a bridge to take shelter from a tornado is a very dangerous idea, for several reasons:

Deadly flying debris can still be blasted into the spaces between bridge and grade -- and impaled in any people hiding there.
Even when strongly gripping the girders (if they exist), people may be blown loose, out from under the bridge and into the open -- possibly well up into the tornado itself. Chances for survival are not good if that happens.
The bridge itself may fail, peeling apart and creating large flying objects, or even collapsing down onto people underneath. The structural integity of many bridges in tornado winds is unknown -- even for those which may look sturdy.
Whether or not the tornado hits, parking on traffic lanes is illegal and dangerous to yourself and others. It creates a potentially deadly hazard for others, who may plow into your vehicle at full highway speeds in the rain, hail, and/or dust. Also, it can trap people in the storm's path against their will, or block emergency vehicles from saving lives.
The people in that infamous video were extremely fortunate not to have been hurt or killed. They were actually not inside the tornado vortex itself, but instead in a surface inflow jet -- a small belt of intense wind flowing into the base of the tornado a few dozen yards to their south. Even then, flying debris could have caused serious injury or death. More recently, on 3 May 1999, two people were killed and several others injured outdoors in Newcastle and Moore OK, when a violent tornado blew them out from under bridges on I-44 and I-35. Another person was killed that night in his truck, which was parked under a bridge. For more information, meteorologist Dan Miller of NWS Norman has assembled 25-slide online presentation about this problem.
----------
So if I'm in a car, which is supposed to be very unsafe, and shouldn't get under a bridge, what can I do? Vehicles are notorious as death traps in tornadoes, because they are easily tossed and destroyed. Either leave the vehicle for sturdy shelter or drive out of the tornado's path. When the traffic is jammed or the tornado is bearing down on you at close range, your only option may be to park safely off the traffic lanes, get out and find a sturdy building for shelter, if possible. If not, lie flat in a low spot, as far from the road as possible (to avoid flying vehicles). However, in open country, the best option is to escape if the tornado is far away. If the traffic allows, and the tornado is distant, you probably have time to drive out of its path. Watch the tornado closely for a few seconds compared to a fixed object in the foreground (such as a tree, pole, or other landmark). If it appears to be moving to your right or left, it is not moving toward you. Still, you should escape at right angles to its track: to your right if it is moving to your left, and vice versa -- just to put more distance between you and its path. If the tornado appears to stay in the same place, growing larger or getting closer -- but not moving either right or left -- it is headed right at you. You must take shelter away from the car or get out of its way fast!

[tandot]

20. Living in Tornado Alley for about 10 years now

I've heard about people getting sucked from underneath highway overpasses in Oklahoma a couple of years ago, when we had that May 3rd tornado.

If you are in the middle of nowhere you are essentially screwed. I watch local weather forecasts on TV and on the Internet for any tornado watches and plan my trips accordingly. If they upgrade from a tornado watch to a tornado warning, I won't go outside.

I don't know about opening a window. If it is a tornado, flying debris will scatter windows anyway.

The safest place is in an underground storm shelter. They also recommend the center of the house (a room with no windows).

[plcdude]

23. Oklahoma resident

so I speak from experience. Window thing waste of your time. They are powerful engines that explode your house in mere seconds. Get down in ditches or other low areas when outdoors and pray for the best is about all you can do. Abandon your vehicle and don't locate yourself down wind from it or you might be killed by it. We had a number of people sucked out from under interstate bridges in the last few years so it has turned out to not be a safe place. The greatest danger is flying objects moving at speeds comparable to bullets. Protecting yourself from these objects is the number one priority inside or outside. Doppler radar can detect circular movement in the clouds so as was the case last night by my house there were storms that could "tornado" at any time. A couple did after having passed by our location. Wall clouds hanging from storm clouds can easily become tornadic. The good news, if there is any, is that the chances are slim of actually getting hit by one. I have seen a few and ran from some and they are magnificently frightening. This time a year we watch, we wait, we hope, we pray, and we survive.
Be prepared with water, flashlights, batteries, radio, the first thing to go will be electricity and with that any communications, helmets or mattresses and pillows to protect yourself and get into basements or the center of your house. Other than that use your head and don't panic. If the siren goes off then take it as very clear and present danger. Good luck and hang in there.

[markdd]

27. Storm Center at OU or Texas Tech...

Shoots 2x4's through walls to simulate tornado effects. Wood frame walls and most brick facades don't slow them down. Scary Stuff.

Sorry if I got the school wrong