Common Tornado Myths

[Jake Orosi]

I live near Des Moines, IA, which is at the confluence of TWO rivers. It's unbelievable how many people in this area believe Des Moines is safe from a tornado because of the rivers. Ironically, I first heard this myth from my mother in 1974, an hour or so before a tornado hit the town of Ankeny, 10 miles North of Des Moines.

I've heard this myth before too; it's also my favorite because it's so arbitrary. I can understand someone coming to believe that "storms always split before they get to this town" because they observe that happening over time - with a little dose of confirmation bias of course. But to decide that the reason tornadoes don't strike a location is "because two rivers come together there" - where does that even come from? You may as well decide that tornadoes can't hit a town whose name begins with (choose your favorite letter).

When I was a young child, I distinctly remember hearing that not only the basement, but specifically the southwest corner of the basement, was the safest place to hide from a tornado. The explained logic was that most tornadoes move in a southwest-to-northeast direction, so debris would be "thrown away from you instead of toward you". Of course this ignores that wind blows toward a tornado, and that tornadoes are tightly rotating windstorms, meaning wind can be blowing in any direction depending on where exactly the tornado is relative to your position.

Another thing I remember hearing is that you should open your doors and all your windows during a tornado, to "equalize the air pressure" and keep the tornado from destroying your house. I suppose this is an artifact from back when tornadoes weren't very well understood. In reality, it is the force of wind that is the agent of damage after all, and not air pressure differential - there is a differential but it is not strong enough to vacuum the roof of your house off of the walls.

 

[Steve LaBelle]

I've heard this myth before too; it's also my favorite because it's so arbitrary. I can understand someone coming to believe that "storms always split before they get to this town" because they observe that happening over time - with a little dose of confirmation bias of course. But to decide that the reason tornadoes don't strike a location is "because two rivers come together there" - where does that even come from? You may as well decide that tornadoes can't hit a town whose name begins with (choose your favorite letter).

When I was a young child, I distinctly remember hearing that not only the basement, but specifically the southwest corner of the basement, was the safest place to hide from a tornado. The explained logic was that most tornadoes move in a southwest-to-northeast direction, so debris would be "thrown away from you instead of toward you". Of course this ignores that wind blows toward a tornado, and that tornadoes are tightly rotating windstorms, meaning wind can be blowing in any direction depending on where exactly the tornado is relative to your position.

Another thing I remember hearing is that you should open your doors and all your windows during a tornado, to "equalize the air pressure" and keep the tornado from destroying your house. I suppose this is an artifact from back when tornadoes weren't very well understood. In reality, it is the force of wind that is the agent of damage after all, and not air pressure differential - there is a differential but it is not strong enough to vacuum the roof of your house off of the walls.

I had completely forgot about this myth until you mentioned it. They didn't completely think that one through did they? It's very possible if not probable that a direct hit on your house from a tornado would be in the SW corner of it if it's traveling in the typical NE manner.

 

[Michael R.]

I live in what people call the "Downriver Area" in Michigan, just south of Detroit.

Everyone claims Downriver has this "bubble" which protects us from storms. I just roll my eyes and dread the day that bubble gets popped and people fail to take a warning serious.

Anyone from Michigan should know these 3:
1. We don't get big tornadoes in Michigan.
2. Lake Michigan will kill any storms that cross it.
3. The water will protect us, with a respect to storms changing course near the lakes or dying.

 

[Mike Johnston]

But to decide that the reason tornadoes don't strike a location is "because two rivers come together there" - where does that even come from?

It's part of an old Indian legend. Used to be famous in Wichita where the confluence of the Little Arkansas and Big Arkansas rivers is. Myth was perpetuated for generations, long after people should have known better.

 

[Todd Rector]

The wife and I went to Kansas City over the weekend. We took the hotel shuttle to a restaurant, and I commented about downtown KC being hillier that I remembered. The shuttle driver (20ish male) immediately volunteered a nugget of knowledge about how the hills and the river keep KC safe from tornadoes. He went on to say how flatter areas like Joplin are the danger spots and get hit by tornadoes all the time. Wife was watching me out of the corner of her eye, waiting for me to pounce out of my seat. I decided to just nod and play along rather than engage in a scientific discussion, but I about bit my tongue off trying to restrain myself.

 

[Andy Wehrle]

Didn't a supercell drop a family of strong tornadoes in and near Kansas City on May 4, 2003? How quickly people forget. Or, don't they count because it wasn't a direct hit on the downtown area?

 

[Jake Orosi]

That confirmation bias I was talking about. Counting the hits and forgetting the misses. People do it all the time, but it's especially epidemic when it comes to 'folk wisdom' of the kind we're talking about. How many times have you heard the old card about famous people "always dying in threes"?

 

[Todd Rector]

I wish I could have had the May 4, 2003 data on-hand, but I was too busy trying to keep myself from choking the shuttle driver to have made much use of it. I am so dumbfounded by people who spew such nonsense I can barely respond to them. I personally know someone who refuses to believe the sun is a star, which puts me in a similar situation; I can't make people repeat 6th grade science, so I just put my mind on idle in their presence and silently mourn the future of humanity.

 

[Todd Rector]

Another thing I remember hearing is that you should open your doors and all your windows during a tornado, to "equalize the air pressure" and keep the tornado from destroying your house.

YES. I remember my mom running around the house opening windows before a bad storm. I also remember the window sills and carpet near the windows getting thoroughly soaked with rain afterward.

Looking back, it's hard to believe how much my parents were persuaded by loosely scientific conjecture in those days.

 

[Paul Knightley]

I guess most people are just trying to convince themselves it can't happen to them - perhaps the biggest myth of all is 'these kind of things don't happen around here, it's always someone else who gets affected' - which goes beyond tornadoes, of course.

 

[Tim Balassie]

I doubt valleys have much to do with tornado genesis....

Just an FYI the NWS Albany did a study of Eastern NY and Western MA tornadoes, in particular the Great Barrington tornado, which I think was in the 50s??? Anyhow, they actually found that the structure of the Hudson River Valley coupled with prevailing ambient flow during severe wx events amplified low-level vorticity and lead to storm intensification. I think this was published in Weather & Forecasting, and may be on Albany's website.

 

[Kevin Rimcoski]

When there are people that believe we faked landing on the moon and took out the twin towers ourselves on 9-11, you sometimes have to just smile and wish people a good day. My ex wife believed there was a special kind of lightening called "heat lightening" that only came on warm humid nights. She believed this because grandma told her it was so. When a storm passed one night and you couldn't see the lightening bolts anymore and only the flashes, I looked at her and said "look honey, that regular lightening turned into heat lightening as soon as it got by us". Instead of realizing the truth, she just got mad that I didn't believe grandma. Some people just won't believe anything that contradictes anything said by someone they think they can trust. Just try your best and move on.

I have to chime in on this and tie in with the rest of this thread.

There's something called cognitive dissonance. Basically going along with what you said, that anything said against what someone believes and they don't listen. They'll either get mad, angry at you and frustrated, or list off one of the many myths mentioned before

And a lot of people who tend to have a more closed mind like that will not learn or listen to facts until something does happen to them. It's sad, and frustrating to those who are trying to educate them, but it is what it is

I know it's not a typical tornado area, but I've told people over and over again that new england, or connecticut for that matter, can will and have been hit by tornadoes. I get the same responses from them saying "we're in a valley" or "tornadoes don't last over hills" etc

I can think of a few examples of very recent tornadoes in and around not only my hometown, but mass as well and other towns of ct.

I've noticed a rise of reported tornadoes over the last 3 or 4 years as well in the area

 

[Jessie Schafer]

I have to chime in on this and tie in with the rest of this thread.

There's something called cognitive dissonance. Basically going along with what you said, that anything said against what someone believes and they don't listen. They'll either get mad, angry at you and frustrated, or list off one of the many myths mentioned before

And a lot of people who tend to have a more closed mind like that will not learn or listen to facts until something does happen to them. It's sad, and frustrating to those who are trying to educate them, but it is what it is

I know it's not a typical tornado area, but I've told people over and over again that new england, or connecticut for that matter, can will and have been hit by tornadoes. I get the same responses from them saying "we're in a valley" or "tornadoes don't last over hills" etc

I can think of a few examples of very recent tornadoes in and around not only my hometown, but mass as well and other towns of ct.

I've noticed a rise of reported tornadoes over the last 3 or 4 years as well in the area

For the people that think their city is protected by geographical features, you can always allude to the fact that in 1999 salt lake city was hit by a tornado that traveled down and up a canyon wall.

Here in south central Missouri, people tend to think the rolling hills will protect them, but on new years Eve 2010 (of all days) an EF3 tore through Fort Leonard Wood where I am stationed causing massive damage, hitting the Army housing area, destroying 48 houses and damaging another 100. Luckily most everyone was on leave for Christmas so only 4 people were injured. But just goes to show you what people believe.

Also, I've heard the "open your windows to equalize the pressure in the house" one more times than I can count....

 

[Joshua T. Clark]

Not necessarily about tornados but I cannot help it the level of dumbfoundedness that I experience with the loony bin folks and all of the HAARP stuff. Kind of goes with this theme.

 

[Jake Orosi]

Not necessarily about tornados but I cannot help it the level of dumbfoundedness that I experience with the loony bin folks and all of the HAARP stuff. Kind of goes with this theme.

What do you mean? Of course a radio antenna in Alaska that's pointing straight up into the air can shoot a special energy beam that bends somewhere above the Earth so that it comes back down and hits a single spot in Kansas or Japan or Haiti. Radio is basically magic.

 

[Joshua T. Clark]

What do you mean? Of course a radio antenna in Alaska that's pointing straight up into the air can shoot a special energy beam that bends somewhere above the Earth so that it comes back down and hits a single spot in Kansas or Japan or Haiti. Radio is basically magic.

Just saying with the Birchers and the tin-foil hat crowd and all of the contrived crap they post about HAARP rings in radar, chem-dump blooms, and other complete nonsense that it is not surprising that folks would believe farcical information about tornadoes.

 

[Caleb Routt]

I live in SE Kentucky and I hear those types of myths from younger people. Most of the older people remember April 3rd 1974 and those tornadoes basicly tore apart those myths away for them. Diffrent surface roughnesses can cause a tornado to actually intensify sometimes. Valleys can cause the whole "Corner Flow Collapse" phenomenon as noted by Dr. lewellen.