Why do tornadoes seem to only hit rural areas?
Sep 30, 2009
in
Tornado Questions
It seems to be the case. Whenever I hear about a tornado hitting somewhere, it’s zipping through corn to hit a farm house or through a field to rampage through a trailer park. But I never hear about it belligerently tearing down the road to take out the mini-mall. Why is this? Does it have something to do with open areas of land having better factors for tornado production? Or is there something about a city that keeps tornadoes away? It’s something I’m pretty interested about.
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7 comments
cyswxman on September 30, 2009 at 9:27 pm
The main reason is simply because the great majority of the land areas are rural, and thus have a larger probability of getting struck. You don’t hear about the great majority of tornadoes that struck rural areas but caused little if any damage. Only a small percentage of land is actually urban, thus the target there is much smaller.
Ben on September 30, 2009 at 9:27 pm
I lived in atlanta for a few years, and it got hit with tornadoes each year… not exactly down town, among the high-rises, but definitely in the suburbs, among nice homes and mini-malls, apartment buildings and .offices buildings
pegminer on September 30, 2009 at 9:27 pm
In the areas where tornadoes are most common there is a lot more open and rural land than there is land in cities. Nevertheless sometimes they DO happen right in cities. Wichita Falls, Lubbock and even New York city have been hit right in the city. Nothing about cities keeps tornadoes away.
parrothead_usn on September 30, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Unpopulated areas do not make the news as there is little interest generated about fallen trees and blow dried cows. Demolished houses, and distraut people sell more newspaper, hence you hear about those more often.
Paul in San Diego on September 30, 2009 at 9:27 pm
To some extent, open areas of land away from cities provide better conditions for tornadoes to form. But, it’s not unusual for tornadoes to blow through major cities. It’s just that there’s a lot more open rural area in Tornado Alley than there is populated urban area. So, it’s much more likely that a tornado will form and touch down in a rural area than a highly populated area.
an American farmer on September 30, 2009 at 9:27 pm
i have studied tornadoes so i should be able to tell you what you need.
ok. tornadoes occur more in rural areas because in the Great Plains, there are more rural areas than suburbs or cities. and most tornadoes occur in the Great Plains because of the yearly conditions there. so it all leads to the conclusion that there are more rural areas in the Great Plains than cities or suburbs.
KJ Monte on September 30, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Like many of the answers posted, tornadoes hit rural area because there is so much more rural areas compared to urban/populated areas. Many tornado reports occur in Tornado Alley, which extends from Texas up through N. Dakota and as far east as Ohio. This area is primarily the Plain states. There are cities in these states, but the main population centers are near the coastlines, which is better for trade. Tornado Alley comprises states that are landlocked.
Tornadoes occur in these states because the ingredients are frequently setup during the transitional seasons (Spring – primarily and Autumn). This area is notorious because of the tight low level pressure/contour gradient causing strong low level winds (or jet), which helps transport needed Gulf Coast moisture. Also, a high amplitude jet stream causing an atmospheric disturbance (or shortwave trough) to provide upper level divergence and shear along with cold air advection in the upper levels of the atmosphere. Once these ingredient are in place ahead of an approaching cold front, you will have an area primed for tornadoes. Again, these ingredients frequently occur in tornado alley.