What do you do if you are driving along the interstate and a tornado comes?
Jun 29, 2009
in
Tornado Questions
I live in Alabama. We have just been released from work due to severe weather and Tornado warnings. Schools have been cancelled as well as daycares all over town. I have a long drive home. I work in the city but live way out in the country. I am driving about an hour down the interstate (no ditches that I can think of) and then 20 more minutes down back country roads. What should I do if a tornado comes??
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2 comments
Brandy A on June 29, 2009 at 4:37 pm
"What if you're in your car?
It's hard to know what to do if you hear a tornado warning and you are in your car. The best thing to do is try to find solid shelter, such as a well-built building. Park your car off the road so that traffic can get through, and get inside the shelter.
This tornado occurred on May 24, 1998, near Medford, Oklahoma. (Photo copyright 1998 by Chris Kridler / skydiary.com)
Do not stand outside and look at the tornado. They can move quickly toward you, and lightning is a danger, too. It's also dangerous to stay in your car if a tornado is close to you. It will offer you no protection. Again, look for solid shelter.
It is also dangerous to hide under a highway overpass. A famous video of a tornado made a lot of people think that was a safe thing to do, but most overpasses will not offer you protection. The people in the video were not hit directly by the tornado. In fact, debris hurtling at 200 or 300 miles per hour could hit you while you are under the bridge, or a tornado could blow you out! Tragic deaths occurred in the May 3, 1999, tornadoes around Oklahoma City because people tried to hide under overpasses. In addition, when everyone parks under an overpass, traffic is blocked, leaving some people helpless and stuck in their cars in the path of a tornado.
Common advice is to get into a ditch and cover your head. If that is all that is available to you, then do it. If you have no shelter, the excellent Storm Prediction Center tornado safety tips suggest lying flat, face-down in a low area and away from cars and trees, which a tornado could throw on top of you. Nonetheless, a ditch offers little protection. If the tornado is still far away, it is better to drive away at right angles to the tornado's motion, if traffic allows, and find shelter in a building if you can."
Joe T on June 29, 2009 at 4:37 pm
what ever you do, dont think a seat belt will keep you safe for a tumbling ride. The windows can blow out and shred you turning you into human meatloaf.