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.

There is a misconception that opening house windows causes the high pressure of the house and low pressure of the tornado to cancel each other out, and that the house can explode if windows are left closed.

In reality, opening the windows does no good and only lets the wind and debris ente...

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 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 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.