# Dying in a tornado **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 25, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-in-a-tornado/583156 "2011-05-25T14:32:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-in-a-tornado/583156/1 "2011-05-25T14:32:02Z")
Please forgive the morbid nature of this question. It feels like most of the deaths from tornadoes come from the collapse of buildings, or from flying shrapnel hitting people. What happens, though, if you’re out in a big empty field and it’s just you and the tornado? Would you get sucked up into the air by the wind and dropped back onto the ground from a great height? Blown sideways and tumbled along the ground until your body gets too banged up to keep working? Might you just get blown to the side of it and turn out okay? Would there be an optimal survival strategy in this situation, like balling yourself up tightly, going limp and letting it throw you around (to minimize bone breakage), or flattening yourself onto the ground? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-in-a-tornado/583156/2 "2011-05-25T14:49:00Z")
All of the above could happen. You could get picked up and dropped, or you could get blown sideways. Some people end up dead. Some end up with broken bones and major injuries, but live. And some managed to somehow emerge almost unscathed. Your best survival strategy, if you can’t get to shelter, is to lie flat in a ditch or any sort of depression. If nothing else, lie flat in between the rows of plants in the fields, where the soil is slightly shallower. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-in-a-tornado/583156/3 "2011-05-25T15:10:53Z")
Remember, too, that the tornado brings its own debris to beat you with. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-in-a-tornado/583156/4 "2011-05-25T15:13:55Z")
If you are caught in the open by a tornado, the recommendation is to try to get under a bridge, overpass, or culvert, if you have time to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-in-a-tornado/583156/5 "2011-05-25T15:19:47Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > If you are caught in the open by a tornado, the recommendation is to try to get under a bridge, overpass, or culvert, if you have time to do so. Getting under a bridge or overpass doesn’t always work. Unless you are protected and have a firm grip, you can get blown out/sucked out. Culverts. As the tornado passes you press your body against the sides of the culvert (assuming it’s small) to hold you in place. Of course the raccoons hiding in the culvert at the same time may not like the intrusion. And you could always drown. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-in-a-tornado/583156/6 "2011-05-25T15:20:46Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > If you are caught in the open by a tornado, the recommendation is to try to get under a bridge, overpass, or culvert, if you have time to do so. [Nope.](http://www.fema.gov/hazard/tornado/to_during.shtm) While I don’t think climbing under an overpass is going to produce a venturi effect, it’s not going to save you either. In fact, by getting further away from the ground, I am guessing that it will expose you to higher wind speeds than you’d get if you just found the lowest place in the ground and got there instead. One victim of the Moore, OK tornado tried to take shelter under an overpass, and died doing so. (Admittedly, in a storm like that, with the power to rip up asphalt from the road, there really aren’t any good choices.) Moore, OK’s take on the subject [here.](http://www.cityofmoore.com/emermgt/bridges.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-in-a-tornado/583156/7 "2011-05-25T15:34:45Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > If you are caught in the open by a tornado, the recommendation is to try to get under a bridge, overpass, or culvert, if you have time to do so. There was a famous video several years ago showing people seeking shelter under a highway overpass. This has, unfortunately, caused people to believe this is the right thing to do. It’s not. From [FEMA](http://www.fema.gov/hazard/tornado/to_during.shtm): > [@](#): > > Do not get under an overpass or bridge. You are safer in a low, flat location. From the [Storm Prediction Center](http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/safety.html): > [@](#): > > Avoid seeking shelter under bridges, which can create deadly traffic hazards while offering little protection against flying debris. From the [State of Oklahoma](http://climate.ok.gov/tornadosafety/homeandschool/default.html): > [@](#): > > DO NOT seek shelter under highway bridges or overpasses. ETA: I see \*\*Gray Ghost \*\*beat me to it, but it bears repeating. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-in-a-tornado/583156/8 "2011-05-25T16:28:42Z")
I’m gonna say that if you are out and about when a tornado hits, there is no safe place to be if you are in it’s path. Some places may be statistically safer than others but locating one of those places can be very problematic. If you are driving and the wind and rain make it impossible to see where you are going, stopping under an overpass looks like a good thing to do; at least you will have a chance to see what is doing on around you IF the underpass was very convenient. Once you are there, staying there is as good an option as you are probably going to get especially if you cannot see the funnel cloud and calculate its probable path. If you are a farmer out in the field, by all means dive for the ground and hope for the best; wasting time looking for a ditch or even a low spot is probably not going to be the best choice you can make. Tornadoes are unbelievably powerful, erratic in their movements and dangerous beyond belief. No matter what you do, flying debris is as dangerous as the tornado itself; unless you are in a cellar, there is no protection against that debris. If night has fallen when the tornado strikes, you need to be exceptionally lucky: the wonder is that there are any survivors at all if you are directly in a tornado’s path. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-in-a-tornado/583156/9 "2011-05-25T16:51:19Z")
I can see how a dry culvert might be a good choice, but tornadoes are generally associated with big thunderstorms, and are usually in the spring, both of which mean that the culverts are likely to be full to capacity of fast-moving water. Better have a plan B available. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-in-a-tornado/583156/10 "2011-05-25T16:59:34Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > Remember, too, that the tornado brings its own debris to beat you with. There was an F5 in Central Texas a number of years back, Jarrell I believe, and in addition to some other folks one entire family was killed. What I read about it always stayed with me, that their bodies were “scoured” by the debris; sand, pebbles, soil, organics, what have you, carried by the extreme winds. The aftereffect was that they were essentially unrecognizable. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-in-a-tornado/583156/11 "2011-05-25T17:39:11Z")
If you do get sucked up into the air, how high up are you likely to go? Are you going to get sucked up all the way to the base cloud? What about clinging to a tree trunk—is that a good plan? Is SOP different if you’re in Kansas and/or carrying a small dog? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-in-a-tornado/583156/12 "2011-05-25T17:42:21Z")
I would stay as far away from trees as possible. They’re likely to fall, lose limbs, or generate large splinters, often at the same time, any of which can kill. A friend of mine had damage at his house near OKC due to falling and flying tree bits. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-in-a-tornado/583156/13 "2011-05-25T18:18:46Z")
Yeah, they still show the people “successfully” avoiding a tornado under an overpass video all the time. Dates from the 1980s, I think. There is one video from after that that gets shown less often, of the shadows of human figures from mud and dirt left behind on the narrow part of an underside of an overpass…the people who left those shadows were killed. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-in-a-tornado/583156/14 "2011-05-25T18:22:00Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > Yeah, they still show the people “successfully” avoiding a tornado under an overpass video all the time. Dates from the 1980s, I think. There is one video from after that that gets shown less often, of the shadows of human figures from mud and dirt left behind on the narrow part of an underside of an overpass…the people who left those shadows were killed. Do you have a link to the latter video? Morbid curiosity, I’ll admit it. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-in-a-tornado/583156/15 "2011-05-25T18:32:50Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > There was a famous video several years ago showing people seeking shelter under a highway overpass. This has, unfortunately, caused people to believe this is the right thing to do. It’s not. > > From [FEMA](http://www.fema.gov/hazard/tornado/to_during.shtm):From the [Storm Prediction Center](http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/safety.html):From the [State of Oklahoma](http://climate.ok.gov/tornadosafety/homeandschool/default.html): > > ETA: I see \*\*Gray Ghost \*\*beat me to it, but it bears repeating. This seems like good advice if you can actually see a funnel cloud, but is it actually good advice not to get under cover during a thunder storm, as long as you aren’t under a lightning target like a tree? The Joplin tornado was a monster, but it’s footprint was about 5 square miles. Most tornadoes have a path only a few hundred feet wide if they touch down at all. It seems to me that even if there is a tornado sighting in your area, that the chances that you will be in the direct path is pretty low. Doing something that decrease your risk from the tornado, but increases your risk of exposure to other risks may not be good advice. Go to your basement or safe room. Sure, not much downside there, but not getting out of the rain in a heavy thunderstorm? I think I want to see a study showing that that actually will actually improve my odds. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-in-a-tornado/583156/16 "2011-05-25T18:33:38Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Do you have a link to the latter video? > > Morbid curiosity, I’ll admit it. Nope, I’ve never seen it on the Intrawebs, just on TV… ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-in-a-tornado/583156/17 "2011-05-25T19:32:21Z")
FTR, here’s a [very detailed slide show from the National Weather Service](http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/?n=safety-overpass-slide01) on why you should not take cover under an overpass or bridge in a tornado. Re this whole thunderstorm/tornado thing, if it’s just a thunderstorm, then yes, it seems that getting under cover would be better, but if there’s a tornado anywhere in the area, I think that staying low to the ground (ie not climbing up into an overpass/bridge) is the smart move. Tornadoes on the ground are pretty unpredictable and one that seems “small, not too close to here” can rapidly turn into “right on top of us”. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-in-a-tornado/583156/18 "2011-05-25T19:35:46Z")
nm. Found the same thing that **MsWhatsit** posted. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-in-a-tornado/583156/19 "2011-05-25T19:37:24Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > nm. Found the same thing that **MsWhatsit** posted. Thanks, **Gray Ghost** - I simulposted the same link you did, but missed that particular shot when I was looking at it. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-in-a-tornado/583156/20 "2011-05-25T19:44:00Z")
Pretty sure that Slide 7 in MsWhatsit’s post is the bridge from the video that I remember, but I would have pegged it at earlier than May 1999. Love the stick figures in peril on Slide 14. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-in-a-tornado/583156.md?page=2)