Illustrated tornado from the book The Wizard of Oz
© W. R. Wright, Piglet Press Inc. (www.halcyon.com/piglet/)
Common Tornado Myths
Scientists once thought that you should open your windows
during a tornado so your house won't explode. The thinking behind this
idea is that the extreme low
pressure in a tornado would cause the air in
your house to explode. Opening your windows would let the air expand
without damaging your house. As it turns out, houses aren't as sealed as
they thought so the air would have no problem getting out. It turns out that
the strong winds associated with a tornado can lift the roof off a
house. Without the support of the roof, the wall are blown down and they
fall outward. The roof may be dropped back on the rubble or
some place nearby. This gives the impression that the house exploded.
Another common myth was that places were "protected" by a mountain or a
river. In reality, no place is safe. While weak tornadoes may not be
able to crest mountains or jump rivers, the strong ones can. Another
problem is the infrequentness with which tornadoes occur. People in a
town can draw a conclusion that since no tornadoes have ever come through
the town but a couple have happened right outside of town, then they must
be protected. The topic here is not protection; it's probability. A
town is small while the surrounding countryside "outside of town" is
large. Chances are that a tornado would strike in the larger area rather
than the smaller one. This can be a problem because people won't take
shelter if they think they're already safe.
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