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You can outrun a tornado in your vehicle.
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The automobile is absolutely the WORST place to be during a tornado.
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Sure, you can drive 80 mph and maybe outrun a tornado, BUT consider the following...
- Are you sure you know which way the tornado is going? Are you positive it will continue to move that direction?
- Also, you still need to obey the traffic signals. Your fellow drivers may not even be aware of a tornado bearing down on them so you risk injury from causing an accident should you disobey the traffic laws.
- And, at the very least, you need to follow the road, the tornado doesn't.
- Even if your fellow drivers know of the danger and are also trying to escape at the same time, all you end up with is a giant parking lot on the highway. Remember the highway scene in the movie Deep Impact? Nobody was moving.
One of the deadliest examples concerning attempts at outrunning a tornado was in Wichita Falls, Texas, April 10, 1979. That tornado killed 45 people and injured over 1500. Sixteen people were killed when they got into their cars and tried to drive out of the tornado's path. They became stuck in traffic. Even worse, 11 of those 16 left homes which were not damaged. Stay in your home, you are much, much safer there.
Why are automobiles such a poor place to be? Essentially, cars want to fly in tornados but they do not make good airplanes. The intense wind in a tornado can blow vehicles around like you would toss a ball of crumpled paper. There is dramatic video of a Ford Aerostar being tossed over and over (with people inside) during the Andover, Kansas tornado (1991). One lady was seriously injured in a tornado when the vehicle she was driving was thrown into the SECOND FLOOR of a building in Desoto, Texas (1994). Another dramatic video of the Pampa, Texas tornado (1995) showed several vehicles IN THE AIR raised by the twister.
IF YOU ARE IN A MOTOR VEHICLE (any size) AND A TORNADO THREATENS, GET OUT OF THE VEHICLE AND TAKE COVER IN A DITCH OR RAVINE. Also...
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In homes and small buildings, go to an interior part of the lowest level such as closets, bathrooms or interior halls. Get into a basement or celler if you have access to one. Get under something sturdy.
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Avoid windows, doors and outside walls.
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Leave trailers and mobile homes and get into substantial shelter. If there is no shelter nearby, lie flat in a ditch or ravine with your hand shielding your head.
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The National Weather Service reminds you to
BE WEATHERWISE...NOT OTHERWISE
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National Weather Service
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Tel: (559) 584-3752
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