7 Biggest Tornado Safety Myths and Misconceptions

According to experts, seeking shelter in a highway overpass or a bridge can be dangerous, as it can cause a ‘wind tunnel’ and sweep you from right under the bridge, or worse, can collapse the bridge if it is weak.

The safer option is to lie low (and flat) in a ditch or low spot.

Tornadoes can occur anywhere but it seems they are witnessed more in small cities or rural areas. It is not to say that they cannot occur in big cities.

Tornadoes are less common in hilly and mountainous areas, due to the cool, stable air of the regions of higher elevations. The mountains have their own ‘windward sides’ which make the tornadoes break up or weaken.

Tornadoes are generally observed in flat fields, leading to the belief that they only occur in open terrains. Though mountain friction and winds do stop them a little, they can easily be formed over water, so are not entirely land-based.

Tornadoes don’t have a particular direction of arrival, like the Southwest. They can come from any side of the house and even if they come from a particular direction, the wind can blow in other directions and carry debris anywhere.