The Tornado myth is a false belief about a tornado, which can be attributed to many factors, including stories and news reports told by people unfamiliar with tornadoes, sensationalism by the news media, and misinformation in popular entertainment. Common myths include various aspects of tornadoes, and include ideas about the safety of tornadoes, minimizing tornado damage, and false assumptions about the size, shape, strength, and path of the tornado itself.
Some people mistakenly believe that opening the window before the tornado will reduce the damage caused by the storm, but this is not true. Some people also believe that running away in a vehicle is the safest method to avoid a tornado, but this can increase the danger in some situations. Another myth is that tornadoes can pass through the house, always traveling in predictable directions, always extending from the ground to the clouds, and increasing the intensity by increasing the width. Finally, some people believe that tornadoes only occur in North America, do not occur in winter, are attracted to caravan park houses, or that some areas are protected from tornadoes by rivers, mountains, valleys, tall or geographical or other man-made buildings. features; the truth is a tornado can happen almost anywhere anytime if the conditions are right. Some geographic areas are only more susceptible to this condition than others.
Some of the myths of tornadoes are the remains of folklore that are passed down by word of mouth. The notion that the southwest corner of the structure is the safest place in the tornado was first published in the 1800s and persisted until the 1990s though completely disputed in the 1960s and 70s. One example of the mass media spreading the tornado myth is after the tornado tornado of Oklahoma 1999, where the TIME magazine carried a caption showing that the overpass above is a safer tornado shelter than home. The spread of some myths can be attributed to popular tornado-themed films such as The Wizard of Oz and Twister .
Video Tornado myths
Security
The safest location in the building
In 1887, the first book on tornadoes was written by John Park Finley, a pioneer in tornado research. Although it is a revolutionary book that contains many breakthrough ideas, it contains some ideas that have since been proven wrong. One is the idea that the northeastern or eastern part of the structure is the safest, and should be avoided when seeking protection from a tornado.
This myth is derived from two misconceptions: First, that the tornado always moves northeastward, and secondly, the debris from the structure will carry over toward the propagation of the tornado, leaving anyone who is sheltering on the side of the structure facing an unhurt tornado approach. The seriousness of this misunderstanding began to unfold in the 1960s and 1970s, when a major tornado damage survey in residential areas showed that part of a house toward a tornado approach was actually the most safe . In addition, many tornadoes have moved in other directions aside from the northeast, including the Jarrell Tornado (F5 on the Fujita scale), which moves south-southwest. Because determining the direction of the tornado approach can take time away from seeking shelter, the official advice is to seek refuge in the interior space on the lowest floor of the building, under the stairs, the I-beam, or sturdy furniture whenever possible.
Opening windows to reduce tornado damage
One of the oldest stories of tornado folklore is the notion that tornadoes do most of their damage due to lower atmospheric pressure at the center of the tornado, which causes the home to explode outward. As the theory goes, opening a window helps to equalize the pressure.
The source of this myth is from the appearance of some structures that were destroyed after a violent tornado. When one wall receives extreme tornado wind pressure, it is likely to collapse into . This then leads to outside outward pressure on the remaining three walls, which fall out when the roof collapses, creating the impression of an exploding home. Indeed, a survey of "exploding" house damage usually indicates at least one wall that has exploded inward. In addition, if the roof is lifted before the wall falls, the wall can fall in all directions. If they fall outside, this structure can also appear to explode.
Even in the most ruthless tornadoes, there is only a pressure drop of about 10%, which is about 1.4 pounds per square inch (9.7 kPa). This difference can not only be equated in most structures in about three seconds, but if a significant pressure differential succeeds, the window will break first, equalize the pressure. Additionally, since windows are the most fragile part of the house, in significant tornado flying debris is likely to break the windows enough to equalize the pressure difference quickly. Regardless of any pressure drop, the direct effect of tornado winds is enough to cause damage to a house at all except the weakest tornado.
The current suggestion is that opening the window before the tornado wastes time that can be spent looking for protection. In addition, being near a window is very dangerous in bad weather, it may make people exposed to glass.
Using the overpass above as a shelter
There have been several documented cases of survivors under highways, but scientists and meteorologists warn against using them for protection. From the scientific lessons learned, meteorologists insist that the overpass is an inadequate shelter from wind and tornado debris, and may be the worst place during a terrific tornado. The embankment under the overpass is higher than the surrounding terrain, and the wind speed increases with the altitude. In addition, the flyover design can create a "wind tunnel" effect under the stretch, which further increases the wind speed. Many overpasses are completely exposed underneath and at least hang hanging or space-like areas to provide adequate protection from debris, which can travel at high speeds even in weak tornadoes. ( If underpasses the highway close to them, and if it has a deep crawl behind the protective beam, and if no more shelter both available in the face of future dangers from tornadoes, then this could be the best and most enduring option.If not, an underpass is no shelter at all.) People who stop below it block traffic flow, put others in danger.
Run tornado in vehicle
Often people try to avoid or run faster than a tornado in a vehicle. Even though the car can travel faster than the average tornado, the directions from the National Weather Service are for home residents on the tornado path to take shelter at home rather than risk escaping with a vehicle. This is the result of several factors and statistics. An interior space inside a well-built skeleton house (especially one with a basement) provides a decent level of protection from all but the harshest tornadoes. Underground or underground tornado shelters, as well as very strong structures such as bank safes, offer almost complete protection. Cars, on the other hand, can be severely damaged even by weak tornadoes, and in violent tornadoes they can be cast in great distances, even into the building. High-profile vehicles such as buses and tractor trailers are even more susceptible to strong winds.
There are many reasons to avoid a car when a tornado is near. Severe thunderstorms that produce tornadoes can produce flooding rain, hail, and strong winds away from tornado-producing areas, all of which can make driving difficult or even impossible. Any of these situations can cause a driver to be stranded on a tornado path away from a large shelter. When combined with the driver's panic, they can also cause dangerous but preventable accidents. This situation will be greatly enlarged if all occupants of warned areas are left behind in their vehicles, which will cause traffic congestion and accidents as the tornado approaches. Many victims of the deadly Wichita Falls, Texas tornado on April 10, 1979 died in their vehicles in such situations.
If someone finds a nearby tornado while driving, the official National Weather Service directive has asked the individual to leave the car and seek refuge in a ditch or culvert, or a large shelter if located nearby. Deep, highly visible tornadoes, however, can manage to escape from the right (90-degree) angle from the direction of real movement. Despite the dangers inherent with vehicle operation during a tornado, given enough early warning, the car home population has been ordered by the National Weather Service to go to the nearest safe haven during the warning.
Maps Tornado myths
Tornado Behavior
Tornado passes home
Several different phenomena have lent credence to the notion that tornado homes "skip," like people who jump over obstacles. Tornadoes vary in intensity along their path, sometimes drastically over periods and short distances. If a tornado causes damage, then weakens to the point where it could cause damage, followed by re-intensification, it will seem as if skipping part. Sometimes with a loud tornado, a smaller subvortex in a tornado will destroy the structure next to another building that looks almost unscathed and thus seems to be skipped.
It is true that homes between two destroyed homes can be damaged, but this is not the result of a tornado leap, as some have predicted. After the 1974 Super Plague, Dr. Ted Fujita studied many tornado movies from that day. Included in the review are the damage and footage of the tornado film F4 and F5 tornado. Fujita concludes that some vortices, highly volatile tornado satellites that move in the parent tornado at high speed, are responsible for making tornadoes appear to pass through homes. The phenomenon of satellite tornadoes, where smaller tornadoes orbit larger companion tornadoes, can also cause a gap in the damage between two tornadoes.
The weaker tornado rains, and sometimes even stronger tornadoes, can sometimes be lifted, which means their circulation stops affecting the soil. The result is an uncertain and broken path of linear destruction, leading to the term tornado leap. This discontinuity tends to occur in areas larger than the small environments in which the jump-house effect is observed, except perhaps at birth and tornado organization. This situation is not commonly observed and the term is now rarely applied. Usually, when one tornado is weakened and the other forms, a sequential mesosicon sequence forming and decaying is known as cyclic tornadogenesis, thus leading to a series of tornadoes produced by the same supercell. This series of tornadoes is known as the tornado family.
Association size with intensity
Some people have been led to assume that small and thin tornadoes are always weaker than large wedge-shaped tornadoes. There is a tendency observed from the wider tornado causing worse damage. It is not known whether this is due to the actual trend of tornado dynamics or the ability of a tornado to affect a larger area. However, this is not a reliable indicator of the intensity of individual tornadoes. Some small tornadoes, such as ropes, traditionally considered weak, are among the strongest in history. Since 1950, over 100 tornadoes of hardness (F4/EF4 or higher) have a maximum width of 300 feet (91 m). Also, tornadoes usually change shape over their lifetime, further complicating the effort to classify how dangerous the tornado is.
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In general and mistakenly think that if the condensation funnel of the tornado does not reach the ground, then the tornado can not cause substantial damage. This is another deadly myth. Tornadoes appear on the ground only when the condensing funnel goes down to the surface, but this is misleading. A circular wind, a hard surface, not a condensing funnel, is what determines the ruins and causes tornado damage. The complainant must watch the debris rotate directly under a visible funnel or a spinning wall cloud, even if the structure does not seem to be completely down to the ground. In addition, a tornado can be wrapped with rain and thus may not be visible at all.
Trip directions
It has been thought in the past that tornadoes move almost exclusively to the northeast. This is wrong, and potentially lethal myths that can cause the wrong security, especially for unconscious claimants or hunters. Although most tornadoes move to the northeast, this is usually due to hurricane movements, and tornadoes can come from all directions. The expectation of a trip to the northeast may be accurate in many cases, but it is no more than a statistical observation of a tornado in general that any particular tornado can resist at any time. A deadly F5 tornado that struck the city of Jarrell, Texas in 1997 moved to the southwest - directly opposite to the normally expected storm movement. In addition, a tornado can be shifted unannounced due to storm movement changes or effects on the tornado itself from factors such as downdraft wings behind it. This directional change proved deadly in the El Reno tornado of 2013 where a 2.6 mile tornado shifted from the east to the northeast killing at least four storm hunters.
Geographical and time effects
Geographic coverage
It is often assumed that tornadoes only occur in North America. The majority of tornadoes do occur in the United States; However, tornadoes have been observed on every continent except Antarctica.
In addition to North America, Argentina, Europe, Australia, Britain, western Russia, Bangladesh and the Philippines also experience tornadoes regularly.
Near rivers, valleys, mountains, or other terrain features
There are many misconceptions involving the effects of terrain features - water bodies, mountains, valleys, etc. - on the formation and behavior of tornadoes. While most of the modes of tornadogenesis are poorly understood, there are no terrain features that can prevent tornadoes from occurring.
Small bodies of water such as lakes and rivers are insignificant barriers to the tornado. Brutal tornadoes have been formed over rivers and lakes - including the 1878 Wallingford tornado and New Richmond tornado in 1899 - as well as crossing it after it was formed elsewhere. More than a dozen tornadoes have reportedly crossed the Mississippi River. Strong tornadoes have also been known to cross the River Detroit and the St. Claire separates southeastern Michigan and southwest of Ontario. Regarding the mountains, tornadoes have been observed on a 12,000-foot (3,700 m) plateau above the sea level, and have been known to pass through 3,000 feet (910 m) unaffected.
These myths have been disputed. The devastating Tri-State tornado crossed two great rivers along a 219 mile (352 km) or longer track. In 1944, a violent tornado cut a continuous path at least 60 miles (97 km) through a heavily forested and mountainous area of ​​West Virginia, killing at least 100 people. A hill known as Burnett's Mound in southwestern Topeka, Kansas is said to protect the city from tornadoes, according to an old legend. However, in 1966, the F5 tornado flew directly over the hill through the city center, killing 18 people and causing $ 100 million (1966 USD) in damages. Downtown Memphis, Tennessee is believed by residents to be protected from tornadoes and other bad weather by Chickasaw Bluff along the Mississippi River. During the 1974 Super Epidemic, violent tornadoes crossed dozens of rivers, including Ohio, the Detroit River, and crossed hundreds of feet of mountains and mountains. Another example of a tornado that strikes the mountains of the United States is the Super Plague 2011, which struck parts of the mountains in East Tennessee, Northeast Alabama, Southwest Virginia and North Georgia, killing many people, including the entire family of 4 in Ringgold, Georgia.
Tourist attractions to car homes and/or park cars
The idea of ​​making a home unit, or a mobile home, pulling a tornado has been around for decades. This may seem true initially from looking at the statistics of tornado death: from 2000 to 2008, 539 people were killed by tornadoes in the US, with more than half (282) of these deaths in car homes. Only about 6.8% of US homes are "manufactured/mobile homes".
However, it is highly unlikely that a one-story structure such as a mobile home can have a substantial effect on the development or evolution of a tornado. More people were killed in caravan parks because car homes were less able to withstand strong winds than permanent structures. A wind that can destroy or roll up a mobile home can only cause damage to the roof in the residence of one or two specific families. Another factor that may contribute to the further spread of this myth is a confirmation bias: whenever a new instance of a tornado hitting a mobile home park occurs, media outlets report it wider, ignoring damage to the surrounding area that may not result in many fatalities.
City center area
Some people believe that, for various reasons, big cities can not be attacked by tornadoes. More than 100 tornadoes have been reported attacking downtown areas in major cities. Many cities have been hit twice or more, and some - including Lubbock, Texas; St. Louis, Missouri; Topeka, Kansas; and London, England - have been attacked by violent tornadoes (F4 or stronger).
Tornadoes may seem rare in downtown areas because the downtown area covers such a small geographical area. Considering the size of the central business district is very small compared to the city limits, tornadoes will attack outside the downtown area more often.
Misunderstandings, like most, have a small base in truth. Research has been conducted in several metropolitan areas showing that urban heat island effects can prevent the formation of weak tornadoes in the city center, as the warm turbulent air disrupts their formation. This does not apply to significant tornadoes, however, and it is possible that the presence of tall buildings can actually intensify storms that move into downtown areas.
During winter
Since it generally requires warm weather to form, tornadoes rarely occur in winter in middle latitudes. However, they can form, and tornadoes have even been known to travel on snow-covered surfaces. Deadly tornadoes are no exception: from 2000 to 2008, 135 of 539 US tornado deaths occurred during the meteorological winter (December to February). Tornadoes in the winter may be more dangerous, as they tend to move faster than tornadoes at other times of the year.
See also
- List of common misconceptions
- List of tornadoes F5 and EF5
- List of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
- List of tornadoes that attack the downtown area
- Tornado note
- Tornado shape
- Tornado size
- Tornado 2018
- List of tornadoes by calendar day
References
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, Kimberly E.; R. A. Peppler; R. A. McPherson (2014). "Tornado Folk Science in Alabama and Mississippi in the Tornado Outbreak of 27 April 2011". GeoJournal . doi: 10.1007/s10708-013-9518-6.
External links
- Tornado Myths and Facts National Climatic Data Center
- The video compares the house with the door open and closed in high winds - though construction is also different
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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