Hey Ray! Tornado Myths And Misconceptions
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- After tornadoes hit our area, I get some very good questions, and hear some untrue myths. One of them is the misconception that tornadoes don't form near mountains, valleys or lakes.
The fact of the matter is that tornadoes can occur on, in and around those areas.
Wherever there are ingredients for a tornado to form, they will form.
Some of these places might make it a little harder to form, but they certainly can, and have formed in locations like that.
Remember that experiment we did with marshmallows and low pressure?
In that experiment, as the pressure dropped, the marshmallows expanded, as the air inside them tried to fill the place where the air was vacuumed out. Since tornadoes are intense areas of low pressure, people worry about a similar expansion with their homes.
The pressure inside a tornado, however, does not cause a home to explode. It is the tornado's winds that cause damage to buildings and homes, not the pressure.
There is an old myth that opening your windows and doors will equalize the pressure inside your house to help save it from tornado damage. This is simply untrue and will do nothing to protect your home. Leaving them closed will help provide a barrier between the tornado and your home. You shouldn't waste time doing that either. That time should be spent getting to a safe space.
When there is a tornado warning, the safest place is the lowest level of your home Preferably a basement or ground floor. Find an interior room to put as many walls between you and the tornado as possible. Make sure to take special care to cover your head.
Never go upstairs. In many tornado situations, the roof or upper levels are the first to get damaged or destroyed.
Some may think we are "in the clear" from tornadoes once the seasons change to the colder ones. That is also untrue. Our area has experienced a tornado in every month of the year, even the winter months, so it is important to have your safety plan ready to go all year long.
WEATHER LINKS:
Current Conditions | School Delays & Closings | Local Radar | Weather App | Photos
Stay up to date with the KDKA app, which you can download here.
