Are Bridges Tornado Deathtraps? - Deadly Tornado Bridges and Overpasses
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 มิ.ย. 2024
- In this video, we take a look at the tornado underpass overpass bridge shelter myth. We look at some historical examples from the famous 1991 Kansas Turnpike Tornado video to the the overpasses hit by the 1999 Bridge Creek Moore Tornado. Thanks for watching! Subscribe for more Tornado content.
contents:
0:00 Intro
1:40 Why are Bridges Dangerous?
2:24 Overpass Myth History
3:24 1991 Kansas Turnpike Overpass Video
6:50 Moore Tornado Underpass Stories
9:40 Skeptics
10:00 Driving Tornado Safety
Sources:
www.baptistlife.com/flick/dea...
KWTV-DT News 9 Oklahoma City
KSN-TV Kansas News and Weather
KFOR News OKC
Music:
C418
Falling Forever
#tornado #overpass #death
![ช้างศึกสู้ต่อไป!! พาเปียโน ดูบอลไทยครั้งแรก ตกรอบแบบโคตรเสียดาย!! l [Nickynachat]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4WloIH645Lg/mqdefault.jpg)
My friend’s teen kids ended up in the path of a small (thankfully) tornado in the mid 2000s. They did what they’d been taught their whole lives, living in tornado alley. They parked under an overpass, bailed, got into a ditch a went flat as pancakes. The car that was left under the overpass got blown around and damaged but drivable. The kids down in the deep ditch/ravine had a couple of scratches from brambles and bits of debris. It could’ve been sooooo much worse. Jeez, I still remember being beside her when she got the call from them. Crazy.
Good thing it was small. A bigger, or stronger tornado probably would have strong enough winds for the debris caught in the ditch to cause serious injuries.
I know the answer will probably depend on many variables, but in general, how deep does a ditch need to be to be considered as an option?
@@nolaray1062 well that's a deep subject
@@nolaray1062 It's an option as long as the tornado isn't directly over you, and strong enough to rip you off the ground.
@@nolaray1062 With the above being said, get as deep in the ditch as you can get and start praying that the worst part misses you. Basically, the farther down you are, the better you are. It's better to be there than in your car. The idea is to get under the wind and debris.
I analyzed the wind funneling effect under overpasses for my senior project at college, using handheld anemometers and a patient friend. Even without a tornado, winds could be double under an overpass what they were outside the overpass, especially at that top corner.
Yep, my time on a motorcycle says the same thing. On a windy day going under an overpass could entirely kill the wind.. or double it depending on the direction in relation to the overpass itself.
The winds don't kill you, the debris does. The only real question is does it reduces the amount of debris that hits you and give you enough to hold onto to not get blown away. You can survive 200 mph winds without debris to tear you apart.
@@bobbygetsbanned6049 Unless you can't hold on well or the overpass doesn't have a good enough space to scrunch up in and you get sucked out through the wind tunnel effect...(like the woman in the video whose 11-year-old son survived).
@@the_real_littlepinkhousefly In every survivor story involving the use of a bridge they always seem to have been in a pocket ledge at the end. I would argue that specifically mentioning that pocket rather than just the underpass would make for less public confusion and reduce the false sense of security at the bridge.
@@chemislife Possibly. But then aren't people just going to think "I can get into the pocket" and a) assume their underpass/overpass/bridge even has a decent one, and b) still end up with cars bunched up under the under/over/bridge blocking traffic and causing a much more serious situation than if people were taught how to (mostly) safely outrun a tornado? Or if, like Kansas, there were periodic storm shelters along these highways? I still think it's just better to educate the public that under/over/bridges are Big No-Nos in a tornado, and teach them what the safer alternatives are.
Somewhere on the interwebs is Reed Timmer's whole explanation (document, not video) of the scientific reasons why under/over/bridges are bad places to be in a tornado. Well worth the read, if you can find it.
I'm a long haul truck driver. I've parked my tractor and trailer under overpasses on a couple occasions while tornados have passed me. I decided to do this because I figured that even if my truck gets tossed around under the bridge, it's better than being tossed 100 yards into a cornfield.
Seems like a full proof plan.
I would think that under a bridge is better than out in the open. What other options are there? I'd do the same
Something I didn’t know, coming from someone who lives in a state where tornadoes aren’t exactly common: a helmet can save your life. So many people die from blunt force trauma or getting hit in the head with debris. If you’re in a tornado warning, you should put on a helmet. Even if it sounds “silly” it can save your life.
I’ve been looking for a reason to wear my kayaking helmet 24/7.
And make it a motorcycle helmet which is more durable than most and has a face shield.
@robertd9850
I mean, those are built with the wearer being thrown around in mind right? Even better if you get swept up by strong winds
Wear a cup and shoulder pads too
If a tornado is standing still, then it’s heading for you. I’ve lived in tornado alley. I’ve never sought shelter under a bridge from a tornado. I’ve been in a tornado event, while traveling. I could tell I was on the edge, and it was extremely strong winds, and so I kept driving away. The debris is the biggest factor. A bridge would have to have a cubby hole to tuck into, and most don’t. Anyways, a ditch or a culvert is good, unless flooding precedes the tornado, then it’s double-jeopardy time.
or its going away from you. or its standing still
@@BillsFan2020 no. A ditch or drainage culvert is a good spot to take cover from a tornado. Because if your laying flat in a ditch, the tornado winds go over you, and usually so does debris. It may sound crazy, but if you got a helmet, put it on if your in a ditch incase you are struck by tornado debris. Failing that, cover your head with both your arms and hands
Even if it might be going away from you, run. Also a reason you don’t wanna drive away in your car is because even if it is a slow moving tornado, you have traffic, fallen trees, and you probably can’t see in the large amounts of rain if it’s happening.
Nope, that means your fate has been sealed
@@loz9324 🌫🌪
I am a storm chaser in Texas. I was taught by Allen Moller and Tim Marshall. I have an extensive science background; having said that there are a series of decisions to make before you may choose a "proper" overpass to take shelter. Very strong tornadoes can peal asphalt pavement off a road. So the first evaluation is direction of travel of the storm. Turning south is the best option because rarely does a storm turns due south if it has been traveling northeast. Evaluate the debris, large trees, entire roofs, cars, indicates a strong storm. Bridge and ditches are out. I never chased in heavy traffic, which leaves me with; out running the storm until I can turn south or find a suitable underground shelter. If it is a weak tornado debris is dirt and insulation then ditch and a "proper" bridge would be considered. The goal at a bridge is to hide behind a large beam in the corner and avoid flying projectiles. Getting as tight against the wall and the ground behind the solid beam would be key. Small beam bridges or bridges with wide spaces between girders would not be good. The bridge is the last resort.
When I was chasing I was always aware of how the area bridges were built. Also I would look for suitable ditches or culverts, not to low and not adjacent to structures that could be funneled as debris into the culvert. Watch Read Timmer's video of April 2022 Andover KS tornado. This particular storm had lifting forces seldom seen. If this had been an EF4 or 5 it would have pulled pavement off the road. Most people are oblivious to tornadoes until it is almost too late. Pay attention to watches and warnings know where the storms are and what the movement is relating to your location.
Also many tornado videos shown by the media speed the video up to enhance its apparent power. Many tornadoes viewed from a distance may not look that dangerous. Many fatalities are from people that actually drive a vehicle into the storm. Plan ahead! Thanks
That makes more sense than avoiding overpasses at all cost, it's not the wind that kills you it's the debris. If there's a spot to avoid debris under a bridge I'd rather be there than out in the open with zero protection from high speed debris.
Hoping on to this, caves are ideal. No caves around? Make one. Get to the water, a stream. Dig in as deep into the side as you can. If there is time, block entrance with sticks, mud, whatever is around. Worst case, you are in a low spot so winds won't pick you up easy. You have partial cover from river/stream ditch. And you probably aren't near buildings so less metal and concrete debris. I storm chase in the mountain plains. There is no shelter, only what you can make in those precious minutes.
years ago, I saw a video that was taken in Kansas about a tv news crew, a father, and his 2 daughters that hid underneath an overpass as a tornado approached. I truly believe that that video caused many people to start hiding under bridges.
It can be an error to think that you should always head south. Cost 3 chasers their lives in El Reno, and almost took Reed Timmer's crew as well. Watch Skip Talbot's extremely detailed safety video about El Reno.
There have been documented instances of people leaving a well constructed building to go hide under an underpass. Clearly, for reasons such as this, the message that overpasses are bad in a tornado warning, is needed.
Also the message to drive at right angles to the tornado's path, if you can, is important.
And for pete's sake pay attention to the weather. Use your brain. Get a weather radio. Avoid putting yourself in bad situations to begin with.
We lived in a single story house with a slab foundation for 30 years. I always thought the house was fairly well protected from tornadoes because it was on the eastern slope of a hill, with a retaining wall and a house above it to the west, and I thought the house and hill to the west sort of created a barrier that would protect the house from being hit. But we bought the house above it on the hill to the west of the slab foundation house and moved in, and then I realized after we moved that the way things are situated between the two houses creates a wind tunnel effect between the two houses that makes the wind really howl, and now I really hear it when the wind blows. The lower house was so sound-proof that I didn't ever hear it. That wind tunnel effect makes for an even more dangerous situation for that slab foundation house than if it weren't on the hill. Now I realize how dangerous that slab foundation house really was and is in the event of a tornado. It's like an underpass under a bridge between the two houses, creating even stronger winds right next to the house. This house we moved into has a basement, and I've invited the people who now live in that slab foundation house to come to our house in the event of a tornado alarm, day or night, someone is always here, and they have accepted our invitation.
Hi Linda. I live near Toronto, Ontario. Just wondering WHY houses built in Tornado alley are not all built with basements? Here in Canada, both city and rural houses mostly are built with basements.
@@mikegike7273 Toronto gal here! There's a few reasons, depending on location. In some places, the water table is so high that they can't dig a basement without it flooding. Or the ground is predominantly rock and it's very hard to dig deep (think like building in the Canadian Shield). In other cases, there's a perception that getting your house destroyed by a tornado is really rare and building a house with a basement is expensive, so they don't do it. Many people instead just dig a storm shelter and use that, like we see in the movie The Wizard of Oz. There's also the fact that a lot of that area is low income and people live in mobile homes. However, the counties don't want to invest in building public storm shelters because they are allergic to taxes. Unfortunately, that's how you end up with a Rolling Rock/Silver City situation.
Instead, the common idea is to shelter in their bathrooms. The pipes have a re-enforcing effect which can allow enough of the wall to stay stable to protect you. Many times it's the only thing left standing.
@@MKPiatkowski Your last sentence reminds me of the 12 year old boy in Moore, OK that was home alone and sheltered in his bathroom, hugging the toilet. The picture shows that the only things left standing were the toilet and the walls directly behind it. That boy was lucky!
Good neighbor. You are found worthy.
Water table and shallow(ish) bedrock aside. Money has a strange effect on humans. As outsiders, one wonders why the people who reside in a geographical location, with Tornado in its nickname, would even entertain the idea of prioritizing financial obligations over Familial safety and welfare. However when u start getting quotes to add even an unfinished basment to a new construct can be upwards of 40k. Which , to me, is a chunk o' change.
Coupled with the current housing market , I think at least, a lot of people are financially maxed out. So in a messed up way ,the basement , is treated like a luxury. Quickly discarded if your over budget. Another in a long line of decisions we hope won't come back to bite our No Havin Basement As$eS. Then again if I was under ahalf mil or more mortgage with a slab foundation. I'd be rooting for the Tornado to blow my Debt away, and with the insurance THEN I would build that f****** sheet. Please like this comment to satiate my incessant craving for validity from YT messages
Lot of weird mixed information on this so I'll throw my two cents in here. I survived the 2014 Louisville Mississippi EF4 tornado under and overpass with my dad and my dog. This is a fairly famous storm that leveled most off my town and killed a lot of people. My home was leveled down to a slap in this storm. When the storm sirens went off I knew right away that my house wouldn't survive a tornado so I grabbed my dog, and my dad and I jumped in my truck and we made our way to the highway 15 on ramp to Highway 25. Once we got there we could actually see the tornado. It was massive and sounded like a jet powered freight train, and it was coming straight for us. I looped my winch cable around one of the bridge pillars to anchor my truck and me my dad and my dog all made our way up and between the concrete supports on the ledge that most of these types of bridges have. Once there we both put on our full face motorcycle helmets and stayed as tight to the bridge as possible. The tornado went directly over the top of us and it was honestly hard top breath the air was so heavy under there. Every piece of glass in my truck was sucked out and the truck itself was leaned on its side against the concrete pillar. Thankfully the winch held and we were able to keep the truck. As for us, aside from being covered in mud and having serious trouble breathing with the wind, we were totally fine. So to conclude, No, bridges are not death traps all the time. If you are aware of what to do, and the bridge has a ledge surrounded by reinforced concrete like ours does, you can get under that, and be safe from the storm. Even a EF4 tornado with enough power to level a small town. Mississippi has poor storm warning systems and the people here are mostly poor so we can't afford storm shelters and the sturdy houses that can survive storms. So over generations we have had to learn what works and what doesn't to make it through these storms. Some people have been saved by hiding in walk in freezers. Others have hidden in car wash stalls between the brick walls. This is normall a horrible idea but depending on what type of car you're in and where the storm is it CAN save your life, or get you killed. What will for sure get you killed 100% of the time is staying in your home when you see that is will cross your path. The best way to survive one of these if you don't have a hard shelter under ground or built out of concrete is to out run it. It's not easy to outrun a tornado because they move how they want and are normally moving VERY fast, but if you understand where it's going, you can get out of the way. The best choice is normally, just don't be where it hits.
So I'm a trucker and have spent some time looking into this situation. I don't blame you for not really being able to give a clear directive as to what you should do. I'll share the safety plan I have, as I think it gives the best chance for survival, with least injury.
1st, where you are matters! The deadliest aspect of tornados is the type of debris you can get struck by. So where you should go is dependant on where you are and what may be flying around. If you are in a city or urban environment, head to the gas station or grocery store and get into the walk-in fridge. Those things are freaking tanks! Yes, there are glass doors, so stay back from them, but I'll take some cut's over being crushed.
But what if you're in the middle of nowhere? Here is where it gets a bit tricky, and why people can make poor decisions, if you never took the time to think about it before you freak out with a tornado on your ass! If you are in giant pastures or crop fields, get as far from structures, vehicles, and trees as possible, then lay as flat as possible in the lowest spot you can find. If your around trees and forest's, look for a culvert to protect you from trees falling. Failing that, well, do your best to adhere to previous advice, cause you in a real bad spot and your survival is at serious risk.
Now I'd hope you could find a ditch with little to no water running threw it, but if not, don't PANIC!!! There seems to be this idea that a tornado is going to suck you up and throw you 10 miles away. This is just not reality, I'm sure we'll hear from some trolls who will bring up some way for which this could happen, fear not, unless you're the most unlucky person to ever live. Wind speeds measured at a foot or two of ground level in a tornado are pretty low. So unless your body type resembles a wing (like, ya know, your car, especially if flipped upside down) there's little chance you'll have to worry about needing a parachute. Instead, it's what's flying in the wind, you need to be cautious and aware of.
As to the overpass/bridge conundrum, there is evidence that older style structures offer some protection. However, unless you understand the physics and know the difference, just stay away from them, because modern styles are death traps. Now truckers and high profile vehicles may use them to avoid roll over due to high winds hitting us from the side. That, imo, is a good use of an overpass, so long as there is no threat of tornados.
My best advice, be weather aware. Pay attention to weather forecast every day, so you are as unlikely as is possible to get surprised. Tornado's can be devastating and hit with little to no warning, but that's not to say you should not have had a clue. If a strong storm is on its way and you know it, treat it as if it has a tornado, and avoid it. Leave work late, take the bypass, drive 10 miles in a direction perpendicular to the storm. With weather/radar apps, very few people have the reasonable excuse of "it came out of nowhere" as now we translate it to "I was too lazy to give a damn".
I have had many day's where I adjusted when I left a location or choose a different route, just to avoid an area of bad weather. That has by far been the most effective action, towards avoiding being put in that position.
In the end, it's your life! So don't just take my word, do some homework and make plans you can live with.
Walk in coolers are hardly tanks. I've installed many dozens of them and they're 4" thick styrofoam , covered by an aluminum skin.. The styofoam should absorb energy of flying debris. They look strong but are really light weight. One average sized guy can easily carry a 4' X 8' panel by himself.
What if debris blocks the cooler door? Then you would be trapped in 40 degree atmosphere until somebody finds you.
Probably won't be doing that 1.
do you know the meaning of trip planning
Thank you for taking the time to explain your safety plan! It could help some people
@@greenbeans575 The power will most likely be out if there is debris blocking the door. In any case, it's a far better solution than sitting in your car outside. 40 degree temps would be rough if you did have to endure that, but that's better than being stuck in a car outside.
In 2010, an EF4 tornado went within a mile of my parents' house, and crossed a major highway near a couple overpasses. The tornado pushed the cars taking shelter underneath into that narrow wedge area. I saw the cars with my own eyes afterward, crushed all over from the strong impact. Fortunately, no one died.
The people in the cars survived because of the vehicle safety features. If they had climbed up to that "safe" area some people think it is, they might have been crushed by their own cars. Don't shelter under overpasses.
It really depends on the specifics of the bridge. I took shelter in a bridge during the 1996 Ogden IL tornado with my wife. There were steel beams that went from the roadbed above to within an inch of the concrete below. Concrete above, below, and behind us with steel on the sides. It felt like the safest place I have ever been during a tornado. The wind wasn't bad in that cubby hole, but was strong on the road below. I'm not sure if we were in the direct path of the tornado, it was an EF3 that was 3/4 mile wide and destroyed the town. We were at the overpass at Ogden. We were on the interstate on our way home, listening to the radio we knew we would likely intersect with the tornado and needed to abandon the car and find better shelter. The ditch was an option, but the bridge seemed better. There were a bunch of other motorists that also took shelter in the bridge. There was a fatality not far from the bridge on the interstate, I think they were still driving.
Good to see you putting out a video like this! In 1994, I found myself smack in the middle of a tornado. It had descended right on top of me, and was blowing shingles behind me to the left while uprooting fully grown trees in front of me and moving them to the right.
I dove into the deepest depression I could find.
Can you explain your expetience in more detail? Im very curious about what that would feel like; the tornado forming above you.
@@derinariesit's something that once you've seen, you don't ever forget. I've had the (mis) fortune of having a funnel cloud develop right over my home. I could look straight up and see the funnel working its way down to the ground. The weird thing is, it was dead quiet until the tornado hit the ground. As a homeowner, it's one of the most scariest situations ever.
I can't speak for other states but Kansas has tornado shelters at most (not all) toll stations. They are very basic and were originally for the toll booth workers in the event of a weather emergency. But travelers are never turned away. Thank you for making these videos!
Man that was smart of the state to do that. I'm also glad peeps aren't turned away either. I mean I generally hate toll booths, but those you mentioned there aren't on my shitlist anymore.
Ohio is the same way. Now driving truck in the Midwest, tornado safety is top of my list. Looking everywhere in the off chance I came upon one. I sure as heck can’t outrun one, exits are every ten miles or so. I just count on banging on the door of some farmhouse. The guard shack at my home terminal has the safest shelter on the complex, being the only one actually underground.
Most states have storm shelters on interstate rest areas now.
@@653j521 nice
Factoids here! Some highway toll stations are built with underground tunnels for worker’s safe crossing. Notice most reststops are a pair on opposite sides of the route? They similarly have utility tunnels to share power, water, sewerage between the two reststops.
My brothers & I were caught in a tornado. We were upriver when a severe thunderstorm quickly came upon us. We couldn't see where we were going as we tried to out boat it, heading back to our cabin. We ended up pulling over to an island, dragged the boat out of the water, emptied it & flipped it over us. It sounded like a train roaring above us. We made it back after it was over, my parents, great aunt & uncle were waiting for us at the dock. This happened to be a day when several tornados rolled into western PA. Back home, a tornado followed the streetcar tracks just below our home. It knocked down poplar trees into our backyard, just missing our house. All the fruits on our trees were gone & our garden got tore up. It hopped over the river into the town where my great uncle & aunt lived. It received a lot of damage & one death where a man sought shelter in a phone booth. I was 10 then & I'm 70 now & I'll never forget that experience.
@@willoughby1888 Nice 😘
Very smart. Glad you got lucky.
And legend has it it rained fruits and vegetables on an adjacent town 20 miles away, the produce being in perfect shape! :) Thanks for the story.
@@raylopez99 😉
Ah.. a phone booth- A PHONE BOOTH????
I...I just...
...
That man *probably* , emphasis on PROBABLY, had it coming...😐
The wind tunnel effect is no joke. I remember that in 2017 or 2018 an ef2 tornado hit Hanoi (which is very rare considering Hanoi's geometrical location) and the spaces and gaps between building and overpasses were absolute chaos. This was quite an experience but i dont want to go though that again
Well as a motorcycle rider for about 50 years, I’ve taken refuge under many an overpass. Once for a tornado and hail storm. The winds may get high, but you’re protected from hail and debri. I never saw those early news reports you start with. It’s a natural inclination to seek shelter when a violent storm comes.
I've heard of poor little Levi's story before & just seeing his name etched on the overpass breaks my heart every time.
Realizing he’s roughly the same age as I am, I can’t help but wonder how he’s doing nowadays.
This is extremely valuable information. I'm actually one of the idiots who was outside with my dad as he got VHS of (the 1991 Andover) tornadoes on the ground, leading me to think of the joke that the first thing people do in the Midwest in a tornado warning is look for their camera. But, an overpass is not enclosed enough to be safe and likely injury from other motorists is a thing.
Any port in a storm
My high school graphics design teacher was one of the people from the 1991 Turnpike video. It was interesting hearing his recollection of events. He said that it is never a good idea to hide under overpasses like that but they had nowhere to go. Mr. Gilbert, I hope you're doing well.
I have thought that overpasses were indeed the safest places to shelter from a tornado, until now. Thank you! 👊
It only *seems* like overpasses are safe cover from a tornado, because everyone knows the cameraman always survives. Now, if they DIDIN’T have a camera man with them, it would’ve been a different story…
Everyone has a camera now though
@@Kremithefrog1 then nobody should ever die from anything ever again
@@rose1742we’ve just unlocked the key to immortality.
The cameraman never dies because you can't upload footage if you're dead
@@greekyogurt9997 Now this is the likeliest reason. Survivorship bias, kind of.
I think you are both right. I believe it depends on the power of a tornado. Maybe EF0-2 you'll have a good chance of surviving, but EF3-5 you won't stand a chance
Idk, I think the bridge matters. If the bridge has actual pockets made by the girders and footer I believe that being up in said pocket is extremely safe. It to me seems functionally the same as being in a ditch or culvert, just inverted and therefore quite possibly safer. Especially when you consider the fact that you have heavy concrete and steel all around you to protect you from debris - rather than open air above you and the length of the ditch.
I'm not sure that I believe the wind tunnel idea simply because the surface area of the bridge won't deflect a ton of wind. I could be wrong about that though.
Though I would agree that simply being under a bridge won't protect you from much more than hail - I think that's honestly why most people wind up there in the first place. Nervous drivers seeking shelter from the rain or not so nervous drivers seeking to protect their property from damage.
This feels like something very easy to settle with some scale models, a wind tunnel or fluid tank and some wind gauges to check the funneling effect and pressure sensors to measure the safety of the girder pockets.
@@MrGOLDENSHOT25 ehhhhh wrong answer!! It is NOT like a ditch,bc a ditch is BELOW ground level, that's the key. Bridges and underpasses actually INCREASE the winds speed and either suck you out or hit you with debris. This isn't about agreeing or disagreeing about something, it's about making a DEADLY decision..
They have done the tests and models and that's why they say don't do it... why question it. The few it worked for were lucky. Ask ppl that did that in OKC. Oh wait you can't cuz they got pulled out and killed... leaving only clear spots where they were up in the grinders. Everything was caked in mud except where they were....
Lol I guess it's in the vid too lol
@@GoldBlueDude show me the study you've seen on windspeed - I've never seen one.
A ditch shields you from debris with walls of dirt on either side and ideally protects you from being blown away as it affords you a pocket of (I believe) low air pressure.
This is why the advice is generally to get below ground. It's not that being below ground has magical abilities to ward off storms. It's to do with pockets of high and low pressure and to shield you from debris with a few feet of dirt and concrete.
Read my comment again slowly, and actually think about what I've said. I'm not saying it is safer, I'm saying it should be relatively simple to study and that research could save lives.
I am of the opinion that the girder pockets can provide ample protection for functionally the same reasons that being below ground or in a ditch can. The story of the boy and his mother I would raise as potential evidence. He was in the pocket of low pressure (again I can't remember if it's high or low) and shielded from debris by steel and concrete. His mother tragically was not. He lived, she did not.
I'm not saying or suggesting that someone should choose the girder pocket to the ditch. Just that it needs to be studied.
I think a good way to describe tornado survival is to clarify that most deaths in tornados are from debris, not the actual wind. Find a debris shield that is attached to the ground, stay low and cover your head. Actually being picked up and thrown by the wind is of course possible but chances are if that happens, you're already being hit by debris.
Let me know how that works out for you when you leave the ground.
Me and my family were on a 13 hour road trip. It was extremely windy and picth black. There was hail and extreme rain. We could see many card that had gone off the road. We kept driving and eventually made it to our destination. We later watched the news and found out we drove through 2 tornadoes one right after the other.
I have a similar story. We were on a trip from Florida back to Michigan, we were on a highway in the middle of Georgia when all of a sudden the wind picked up and it started raining very hard, it got so bad we literally couldn't see a foot past the windshield, the wipers did almost nothing, so we obviously pulled over. The outside looked green and grey, it was very strange. Once it finally cleared, we realized we were about 3 feet behind another car that had pulled over, we couldn't even see where we were pulling into and came way too close to hitting somebody, there was a whole line of cars on the side of the road. We stopped at a BK soon after and found out from the workers there that we were less than a half mile from the tornado. Maybe even closer since we didn't know exactly where we were or it was. But now that I know more about tornados, I'm willing to bet we were pretty darn close without ever realizing it.
As a (very silly) child, tornadoes were my greatest fear. I lived in several parts of Texas with high likelihood of tornadoes, and my child brain thought "tornado warning" meant that there was a certainty that you were about to die from a tornado. On several occasions I curled up next to my parents on the couch and solemnly resigned myself to what I thought was my fate and then I was surprised and confused each time our house didn't get all slorped up. 🤷
Wish I had seen videos like this when I was a kid, lol
Just a few weeks ago, since I do high school track (distance) me and 4 other people were far from shelter and we were running in corn fields out in the middle of nowhere and it was storming horribly. Then tornado sirens go off, and we all started sprinting are 3 miles close to shelter even though there was a ditch next to us. But there was noway I was gonna hide in a ditch because after most tornadoes there is no ditch
I live in a mountainous area, so tornadoes tend to not form here often. There was one bad one that ripped the roof off the midtown-area mall when I was 8. I had tornado nightmares as a young teenager.
I've gotten caught out on the trails in the foothills right behind my house during a severe electrical storm. That scared me; having lightning clapping right above my head! 🌩️⚡
Wizard of Oz set up so many kids with wrong ideas of twisters... either you die or you go to Oz... lol
Tornadoes are proof Congress can not repeal the laws of physics.
Sounds like you just needed better parents lol
If the overpass has a crawlspace between girders you can probably ride it out in there, but if you're hugging the edge it's a gamble whether you get sucked out or hit by debris (including bodies and cars if there's other people too).
One case on tv had the people survive but were in shock from the noise and wind, and cut to pieces by the debris.
He probably won’t be able to even get in the underpass because of how fast the air blows through there
I belive you mean the Andover footage. They didnt get hit by the tornado. They get the forward flank of it@@653j521
yo I am continually impressed with the internet. Literally searched “why overpass tornado bad” and this was the first vid.
And I am vividly impressed. Great job!
It makes me think of a vid I saw a while ago about the sci-fi gimmick where an airlock is opened and whoever is in there is immediately sucked out. The vid noted that while a person in the middle of the airlock room or near the back would indeed be blasted out by the air pressure, a person standing near the door, banging to be let in, would barely even feel a breeze. The closer you are to a surface the less room there is to form a pressure differential to propel you around. Additionally, things that are picked up will be thrown around mostly above the surface. That's why depressions are good, and why lying down is itself a good idea (face-down so that things that do hit can't hit your eyes or stomach). Under girders in an overpass is a bit of a gamble in this sense. It is a caved-in area, so there's a fair chance the majority of the current will move outside, and as long as you're pressed deep in against the cement itself there won't be much chance for you to be "sucked out". However, such angles can create turbulence, potentially directing some debris inward. Overall, probably at least comparable to lying on the ground or in a ditch, but ONLY if there are protected depressions like girders and you're able to reach them and get pressed hard against the concrete BEFORE the tornado hits. If you're far enough to do that, there's probably better options. If you're not far enough, better to choose a method you can achieve before it hits. And if you're dealing with a really large tornado, frankly I don't like your chances no matter where you are outside of a proper shelter.
I think a more in depth video analyzing safety during a tornado would be really helpful. Especially one where maybe you interview survivors who ended up in ditches or under bridges etc. Great video BTW, thanks!!
It's fun to go round and round
If I’m on the interstate and a tornado is near, I have these options: 1. Speed up and drive upwards of 100 mph away from the tornado. 2. Stop my car and get under an overpass and cling tightly to it. 3. Drive into the tornado. 4. Lay in a ditch.
Did I leave anything out?
I was born and raised in Birmingham Alabama and still live here. An F5 destroyed everything me and my mom had back in April of 1998. It about killed my mom she was in the ICU for 2 weeks I was very lucky to be uninjured. Then in 2011 My wife and I came close to being hit by another. Thank you for doing these videos..
I do have an honest question, as I've never lived in places where these forces of nature strike so much, but after such a serious injury that your mom sustained, why did you continue to live in Birmingham? Especially if you said there that ya'll almost got hit again in 2011? I know there's Manu reasons both financial or sentimental that people will stay. If it's no trouble, I'd love to know yours.
@@hinachan70 Our land has been in our family for generations and my mother is retired now but her office was here along with all of her patients so she decided to stay, I stayed because I met my wife who's an only child and really close with her family as am I.
@@jonnyd4306 Well, sounds like you ought to build a serious storm shelter, borderline bunker then, if you haven't already.
@@garethfuller2700 we all have Storm Shelters now.
I was 10 years old when that tornado hit in 1998. I was a little young to remember that one but I remember 2011 all too well.
Idk, I had a tornado bearing down on me and I found a parking garage and stuffed myself into the wedge under the ramp going up to the 2nd level and nothing touched me but wind. When I came out, all the cars and frame structures were Swiss-cheesed from shards of thick glass that covered a 10 story bldg nearby
I was there on April 26 1991. the tornado touched down as a black stovepipe about 100 yards from me. near the Eldorado lake dam. it was moving very quickly to the northeast. It moved over the water of the lake and turned white. just a few minutes later is when it was seen by Craig Jarret on the Kansas turnpike. I wont ever forget that day
I had always thought of overpasses as being safe until I heard on the news one day of a young infant being sucked from its mothers arms as they took shelter under an overpass. I had narrowly avoided the Moore tornado by declaring I would not drive home that day, I was staying with a friend and my route would have collided with the path of the twister.
1999 or 2013
I think it would be a really good idea if they built overpasses differently so they could be safely used as tornado shelters. Like instead of the best thing just being a ledge with girders around you, there's a little tunnel that goes up under the road, shaped like a Σ so you can actually get decently far away from the opening. also install some lights that run off a solar-charged battery and somehow make it difficult for homeless to use it as a spot to live. some people are always gonna think of overpasses as possible shelters anyway so it wouldn't hurt to make them viable options when we replace them.
Have you considered a video on the Dec 10, 2021 tornado that went from Arkansas to Kentucky? I gotta ask since I'm one of those people who just barely got missed. Like it crossed a main road maybe half a mile north of town and this thing was stupid wide at the time it came through. Just curious since you're all about them thar 'naders.
The problem though would be that people leave their cars on the highway which can block traffic and if there are too many people parked there so that it blocks the entire road, the situation for everyone who hasn't parked there can become extremely dangerous, especially if there isn't a road off their lane.
Maybe some kind of emergency parking spaces but that could become expensive to make.
Though some kind of storm shelter along major roads would definitely help alot. I don't live in the US though so idk if this is already a thing.
@@TheQuackinator I had a few hours to sit and not think about this so I can come back with a fresh perspective and honestly I would rather we just make overpasses completely inhospitable and run a national campaign to educate people so they understand you absolutely can outrun a tornado on a good highway if your car isn't complete trash. The fastest tornado on record reached 73mph. Most people run 75+ on the interstate. We need to remind people they can drive faster than a tornado can move over land.
@@TheQuackinator In Kansas, I have seen K-10 completely blocked during severe weather because many cars were under the overpass. This was just a hail storm!
@@TheQuackinator Frankly, making overpasses into storm shelters is a pretty good idea. I'm not a fan of the anti-homeless infrastructure proposed by Notable Discomfort. And the whole "outrun" idea? That's an awful idea. Tornadoes aren't bound by roads, cars are. Storm chasers are trained in avoiding getting hit by tornadoes and yet the El Reno tornado still managed to kill 4 storm chasers. That tornado killed 8 people - all of them were in cars.
Tornadoes can change speed and direction without warning. That's why trying to outrun tornadoes is a bad idea - especially if you aren't a trained storm chaser.
@@notablediscomfort No no no no no! Gods you really shouldn't be trying to give advice when it's obvious you don't know what you're talking about! As Bree pointed out tornadoes are unpredictable, they can turn on a dime and raise and touch down multiple times, and some are multicyclonic, meaning there's smaller twisters around the main one which is why a tornado can go down a street and devastate one side while the other is barely touched. On top of that people are more likely to kill themselves trying to outrun it, most people don't know how to safely handle a car at high speeds! The _actual_ advice is to get out of your car, find the lowest point like a drainage ditch, get low and cover your head. Overpasses _are not safe_ during a tornado! The things you're suggesting WILL get people killed!
"We're gonna tell you what you should do if you find yourself being chased down a highway by a tornado." - this may be one of the most America-specific sentences I've ever heard! 😆
Thank you for the lives you may have saved with this very informative video! Having survived one of the tornadoes mentioned in your video which was the April 11, 1979 tornado! I jokingly tell people that my childhood was spent in our basement seeking shelter from tornadoes! I'm sure those who also grew up in tornado alley can relate! Once you've lived through a tornado and see the death and total desrruction of well built solid homes wiped clean down to the slabs it gives you a healthy fear of tornadoes. In my lifetime, it seems though the tornadoes are much stronger with enormous windspeeds like never before. Just two years ago in Dallas on a Sunday evening 11 tornadoes touched down in thr same path? Incredible! Thank you putting this information out for there. There's no telling how many lives might be saved by you!
I've always gotten the impression that the protection an overpass provides depends entirely on whether or not the tornado is a direct hit. If the tornado isn't head-on hitting the bridge then it can provide protection from the most dangerous part of a tornado, the debris it's throwing around, but if it hits the bridge directly it just means all that debris is gonna be traveling way faster when it hits you.
I'm no expert though, just my random logic train.
Overpasses are great for hail and REALLY heavy rain... but nothing else. I've managed to get under the only overpass between me and home just as a hailstorm hit before, which saved me some cracks in the windshield. But I would definitely rather get out of the storm and find shelter than be ANYWHERE outside during a tornado, let alone an overpass. I *have* heard of the wind tunnel effect, unlike a lot of other people. It boggles the mind that so many people got taught to get under the overpass instead of "find a ditch and be a pancake."
It speaks to the rarity of tornadoes that natural selection hasn't picked off the people who stubbornly refuse to accept that wind does what wind does.
Not only do people not seem to know about ditches, they're still saying they'd take an overpass over them.
And unfortunately where there is hail…
Most underrated TH-cam channel, change my mind
This was an excellent explanation of the right and wrong thing to do in the event of a tornado. The examples were clear and understandable. I love that you even explained which way is perpendicular.
This has not convinced me to never use an overpass as shelter from a tornado, but this has convinced me it should be a last ditch effort. I doubt you could do better in a storm drain or culvert if there was nothing else around.
This is exactly what SHOULD have been said in the video. It should not be your FIRST idea, however, it is better than being caught out in the open and unprotected. Ditches and culverts are no better of an idea of a place to seek shelter as getting knocked unconscious by hail or debris so you can drown when the ditch fills is an equally unpleasant suggestion. Overpasses are not safe, but they are better than nothing as is evidenced by the people who DID survive by seeking shelter in an appropriately designed overpass.
@@kahnwolfe9548 The overpass wasn't "appropriately designed", that was just a quirk about its design that made getting under the girders a potential shelter, and in that particular case, it worked because the tornado sideswiped the overpass. Had it struck it directly, it might have been a different story. Mind you, that was an F2.
As for if ditches or culverts aren't any safer, well I'd somewhat disagree on account that such things by nature tend to be smaller, below level ground and unlike an overpass, give someone seeking shelter the ability to keep their body laying flat as possible. 90% of tornado fatalities are caused by flying debris.
The thing is, that in this age of smartphones, personal weather alert systems, and the technological ability to show a tornado's location and projected path, there's not much reason to get caught out in one where you'd have to employ either of these last resort suggestions, unless you're simply not paying attention.
@@kahnwolfe9548Agree! The space between the girders is the key in my opinion. You have to get out of the path of direct wind and debris. In the video of the news crew and family getting up under the girders, there doesn't appear to be any culverts or low ditches to get into. And they weren't physically injured while those who were still in their vehicles were.
@@marktaylor8659 Clearly staying in a flying car is a choice as bad as standing out and filming it.
Yes, also the “gruesome injuries” part was not convincing because of the alternative. If the alternative is death then I will take the chance of gruesome injuries.
The Moore tornado of 1999 a woman was blown out from underneath an overpass disemboweled and it took over a week to find her body.
But I heard more people died hiding in a ditch
Common sense would make you build bunkers under the over pass
My brothers life was saved by an overpass with getters in 1966 when an F5 hit Topeka, Kansas... So I will always be thankful for that safe place he found. Yes others were sucked out but did live.
Hmm, I grew up in the ‘90s and ‘00s, but never heard that an overpass was a safe place in a tornado! Living in tornado alley, I’ve always been taught that a ditch is the safest place if you’re caught outside.
A tornado can suck one right out of a ditch.
@@bobbys4327 lay flat in the ditch and the air circulating inside the ditch would not pick you up like a piece of paper, simple. Just lay flat in the ditch
@@bobbys4327 If it's on top of you yeah, but if it's not literally on top of you then that's your safest bet. Even if it is on top of you, you have better odds laying flat in the ditch than staying in your car or running away on foot.
I always heard to find a ditch if you are in the middle of nowhere with no shelter in sight. From what I was told, you have a better chance in that ditch, than under a overpass because of the distance to the ground and something with the winds. I can't remember it all. But yeah, a ditch is safer in a certain light.
Thanks for this well made and informative video!
Thanks!
I really don't like the idea of being in a ditch either. I'd look for some concrete drainage structure above ground that I could use to block the wind but in a tornado there are three forces at work: horizontal winds which push debris, vertical winds (component of the helicity) that loft debris, and gravity that pulls everything as close as possible to the spot with the lowest gravitational potential energy and that's usually a ditch.
Both my parents were born and raised in tornado alley. They taught me if you're on the highway and a tornado comes to get a flat as you can in the deepest ditch you can find. They never said anything about hiding under a bridge. This is really the first I am hearing of the bridge thing, pretty interesting.
if you hide under the underpass then the air going through there speeds up so fast that you can’t even keep your feet on the ground you’re gonna be thrown right out of that thing
Good video, the moment i began to recollect that video from the 90s you showed it
I had no clue it was so famous.
Another good one,nice work again my man! There's actually a video of Timmer and a couple of other guys that did seek shelter under an overpass back in 99 when he was a freshman in college at OU and they were chasing the Moore tornado that day. I think that experience is why he says nowadays not to do what they did
Oh wow. I gotta find that video. Thanks for watching!
@@SwegleStudios th-cam.com/video/jqRNZqRKVyo/w-d-xo.html
There is also an episode of Storm Chasers where Reed & crew got too close and the tornado blew out the window beside him...
Yeah I remember believing the Underpass myth back then during may 3rd when I was akid.
Wasn't this the tornado that killed a few chasers? Weather Channel guys? Timmer was there giving assistance. Or was this a different one I'm thinking of?
I always enjoy your uploads!! Keep up the good work, you're filling a niche that I'm apart of! Plus, this is a good video to get out there to people who may not know that overpasses are dangerous.
my mom survived a tornado by hoping into a ditch
I think if the bridge is just the right bridge, with big girders and protection from the sides, then it's better than a ditch
If you use the time that it takes to get out of your car and climb under the bridge to, instead, drive fast at a 90 angle away from the tornado. That would be better.
The problem with hiding at the girder is that unless you are hiding in that tiny space like a box with only one side opened, you are really above ground.
Above ground and inside what is effectively a wind tunnel.
I was hitchhiking in Kansas when I was caught by a tornado. There was no other place to shelter except an overpass where there were girders. Hurricane winds passed through the overpass,but I was safe where I was.
I have family members who were saved by a bridge during a tornado. They hit under the overpass, and the structure protected them.
I love you content so much! Most people get views by chasing the storms, but sometimes all you want are the facts, or you just want to learn something new. This video delivers!
My thoughts are the best way to avoid this predicament are to know as much as possible about weather conditions in your line of travel before you enter an area where you could potentially encounter a severe thunderstorm. If there's a tornado/ST/FF watch, be aware of that. If you see towering clouds or darkening skies ahead, don't be afraid to pull off, stop somewhere and check the radar on your weather app. If you determine that you and a severe thunderstorm are on a collision course, it might be a good decision to detour or hold up until the storm passes the area you would otherwise come into contact with it. Keep your radio on, find the station with storm coverage and listen for information. The more you know ahead of time, the better.
More importantly, if you are at a static location with a tornado potentially bearing down on you (home, work, out & about), weigh the safety risk of remaining at that location versus moving elsewhere and potentially being stuck out in the open if you decide on the latter option. If everyone decides to take to the highway, everyone will be stuck in traffic. Unless you are in a mobile home or or other structure that may not protect you from high winds and flying debris it's probably best to stay put.
I was always taught the best thing you can do is try to ram and wedge your car into the deepest ditch you can find. From then you can either hunker down, seek shelter in the car (which I don't personally recommend as your car is still likely very throwable), or get out and crawl under where/if there's a space in the ditch (trying to lay flat and make yourself as flat and small as possible). Obviously that has its own dangers such as being crushed or flash flooding, either way it's never a situation you want to be in, but finding a ditch and getting something between you and the elements/debris is what your best effort if you can't find some sort of building to take shelter in
This misconception in recent times can be partly traced to the infamous video from the 80s when a bunch of people survived a tornado when they ran to an overpass and hid under the girders. One person happened to be filming it. The tornado was probably not a strong one, but I think many who saw that, figured that was the safe place to be. There were no disclaimers saying that should not be done.
That clip is included and discussed in the video.
You should do a video on incredible /survival/ stories! Situations where people made it out alive, and what they did correctly to ensure that
Great idea!
Actually I would say it depends of whether it's a concrete beam or steel plate girder bridge. It's actually easier to tell from a distance than you'd think - look at the bottom half of the side of the bridge. If It's gray through tan, (or visibly concrete) it's concrete beam and should be avoided at all times. (Looking at the ones where people died in the 1999 tornado, it's blatantly obvious (to me at least) that there's no "shelter" there.) If the bottom half of the side of the bridge is painted (almost always green, although it may be black, especially railroad bridges (the ones where the girders are under the track only please!) (it doesn't have to be an overpass.) - the bridge is almost always steel girder. The end of a steel girder bridge -always- has an "alcove" enclosed on 3 sides and top and bottom like the one in the (in)famous video, having a vertical wall at the end a few inches taller than the girders, and a concrete ledge extending out from that horizontally 1-2? feet - it's required to support the girders by the very nature of the bridge. (And 1-6" high rectangular steal "thing," for lack of a better term for laymen), maybe a foot square, maybe much less and with a gap between it and the end wall below, below each beam you can grab on to- that's what supports the girders.) The girders are made of heavy steel plate, and also always have a horizontal steel "ledge" (called a flange) sticking out both sides of the base (and top), no rounding where it meets the vertical part, just a right angle. Decent to brace against. Some may have diagonal bracing below the girders. The biggest problem with taking shelter the "alcove" universally present is that if the wind blows down the length of the bridge in your direction (which may or may not happen depending on what part of the tornado goes over you) is that the slope would funnel derbies into your location. Steeper slopes (or vertical abutments) might help, and grass instead of concrete slopes at the ends of the bridge I would imagine would reduce the problem, (or in the case of concrete slopes make the bridge a much worse option.)
If the configuration of girders, flanges and any diagonal members allow it, it might actually be preferable to move out between the girders using the flanges toward the middle of the span, very preferably above a diagonal brace to stand on - it would essentially eliminate the derbies problem, but is very bridge dependent.
Honestly I would rate a concrete beam overpass as "never" but a steel girder one as "the best of the bad options"-superior to a ditch, mobile home (maybe) and riding it out in your car, but much worse than driving away from it is possible. And WAY worse than "sturdy building, interior room, lowest level." Or even a not very sturdy building. A nearby steel girder bridge (possibly over a creek or stream, or railroad bridge - think outside the box) -might- be advisable for mobile home residents IF there is ZERO possibility of getting into a frame/non-mobile-home building. (If there is, always do that instead.) (If so, scout it out -before- the tornado warning.)
Concrete !
When I was a child here in Texas, we were shown that video of the Wichita Falls man in school. We were told to sit cross legged in the hallways with our hands over our heads, and if we were at home, open all the windows. Along with the overpass myth, ALL OF THESE INCREASED YOUR LIKELIHOOD FOR INJURY.
Opening your windows increases wind drag on your home and will blow it to pieces. Climbing up into an overpass puts you HIGHER into the tornado where the winds are increased. Sitting criss cross apple sauce on the floor with your hands on the back of your head and your spine curved will cause a spinal injury or a broken neck should something hit you.
They essentially taught us how to die in the 90s.
I remember in ‘96 I was 6 years old, and we had a tornado warning. My teacher was cranking open the windows, had us in the hallways in the position, meanwhile one teacher was trying to chain the front door closed, because at least she had the right idea…but she had it too late. She got pulled right out the front door of the school holding onto that metal door handle for dear life. She survived but my lord that was terrifying. And the craziest part was, to this day I can’t find any information on that tornado. My mother witnessed it, the RFD shoved her big eldorado into a ditch right next to the Doppler radar. But I can’t find a single record of that Nader. All that to say, here I am, 28 years later and I take pretty pictures of naders and clouds on storm chases.
I remember watching those first 2 videos on a VHS from the 90’s as a little kid. I don’t remember if the video expressly warned one way or the other about whether it was a good idea or not. That tape is the main reason I’m still so fascinated by tornados today over 20 years later
I’ve been so interested in Tornados since I was a kid, no idea why. The way you explain everything and the way your voice is quite calming really helps with how terrible the situations that happen are.
Shame these bridges don’t have some form of tornado shelter built into the wedge up under where the people were.
I’m so glad to hear someone specify , deep ditch.
Impressive research. Well constructed. Well done!
1:02
Fun fact: This news reporter was filming a tornado, when all the sudden, it started heading right toward them. Out of panic, they went into the overpass. With a few other people, a mother of 2.
The tornado was ranked as a EF3-2, as a few roofs were completely torn off as the survey was.
The guy wanted to live, so he went there.
The dangerous part that no brings up, parking on an actual highway is super dangerous.
Really appreciate the thought you put into these videos. Great job!
Another thing that happens is that a lot of tornadic thunderstorms are also severe hailstorms. People correctly park under an overpass to protect their car from large hail, and then the tornado moves in. I think a lot people who are protecting their car from large hail may not be aware of the danger of a nearby tornado. That’s especially true out on the High Plains. There’s almost no trees out there on the High Plains, and towns are far and few in between. There’s very few places to protect yourself from hail on the High Plains. So often in tornadic storms on the High Plains when encountering hail people protect their cars the first place they can, which is often under a highway overpass.
Thanks for circling that bridge in the thumbnail, I didn’t think I could see it until you circled it.
To be honest though, great video. This information is very useful and your commentary is great.
Wow! This video randomly popped up in my feed so I thought, seems interesting, I’ll watch it! The elderly man that is talking at the first of the video was a customer of mine for many years! I’d see and visit with him on a monthly basis. He unfortunately passed away in 2019 but in all our talks, he’d never mentioned this. Awesome video!
Safer than staying under a tree.
Your into is always very good! Your videos are so interesting and amazing to watch! I have learned things because of your channel. Keep going with your hard work! I live in the middle of tornado alley, so it's very fascinating to learn about what has happened in the past around me! Good work!! 😁
It's easy to say what you will or won't do during a tornado.
In 2004 or 2005, I hit a bad line of thunderstorms driving back from the mountains of Eastern Kentucky.
Near Georgetown Kentucky i was within 2-3 miles of a confirmed touchdown. Hail was the size of silver dollars and I'm sure some were even larger. Wind was hitting the 70's.
I parked on the side under a bridge. Was it smart? Probably not. But I was worried the hail was going to bust my windshield and the wind along with heavy rain was making driving unsafe.
Would that have saved me from the tornado? Thankfully I didn't have to find out. My point? Stay calm.
The video that shows them going under the underpass back in 1991 was a smaller scale tornado. The girders protected them somewhat. A rarity.
I had a rare occasion during the *huge* tornado that went thru Wichita Falls, Tx. I was trying to fly from the DFW area to Amarillo. I knew from a weather breifing it could get nasty. As I continued flying N. W. I could see what looked like a black wall ahead of me. Turned from N. W. to S. E. and finally got around the storm around 30 miles S. of Wichita Falls. The air at 5500 feet above the ground, even though I was clear of any low clouds or rain, the atmosphere was still quite angry. Went through clear air turbulance unlike anything I'd ever been in. Got as slow as I could and maybe around 5 miles later it settled down, but the air had an odor that I can't really explain. After another 20 miles or so, the wind was dead calm and I was flying in perfectly calm and cool air. Made it uneventfully to Amarillo and flew back the next afternoon in clear calm air the entire way. Upon reaching the Wichita Falls area around 3500 feet above the ground, it looked like a mile wide row of bulldozers had leveled everything in it's path.from the southwest to the northeast. One of the most amazing and tragic things I'd ever seen. I remember this as if it were yesterday. Don't mess w/ mother nature. You'll lose everytime.
I found that *on top* of bridges the winds are very strong even when in front and behind the winds are almost unnoticeable. Must be some sort of effect as well
This is a great video. Glad I decided to watch it. I wasn't going to because I already knew overpasses are a poor choice. You present the info well and added in some good stuff I hadn't seen before. Good research.
But I still might take an overpass as a last resort vs a ditch-- who can say until you're faced with nothing but bad choices with maybe seconds to act. IT depends on the available ditch and the bridge. Best bet is to avoid having to make the choice. Always be weather aware, as you said. When my kids were younger and played sports I always took it upon myself to call the game at the sound of thunder. The coaches and officials seemed slow to act, so I'd yell out, "OK guys, off the field," and no one ever complained once. People were just afraid to be the first one to act. The weather is nothing to mess with.
We live near Greensburg Ks. and was actually watching it unknowingly from our town that evening commenting that they must be having some rough weather over there. The next morning we were there to help with cleanup and I was amazed that more people were not killed. Most of my friends survived in basements, but even basements were not a guarantee as several of them were filled with vehicles and trees. The two houses we helped with most didn't even exist, just the floor of one and the other one just about collapsed on them, thank God it didn't.
Good video. Great info! Appreciated all the little factoids about the victims and events that I did not know about. Subscribed!
I live in Mayfield Kentucky... Have footage of of the destruction. It came through at night time so there's not a lot of footage of the actual twister itself... But we are still dealing with the aftermath till this day and for years to come
My friend's plan for a tornado in her car was always to get under an overpass, and she WOULD NOT listen when I tried to tell her that it wouldn't be that good of an idea. She at least also had the plan that if an overpass wasn't in immediate sight, she'd get in the ditch and make friends with any frogs and snakes. And if there was a drainage pipe going under a road, she'd get up in that a bit. So there was at least that. But I'm still so worried that she's going to put herself in danger, and she's too stubborn to listen.
In all of these cases, the people were caught out in thw middle of nowhere, and their options were A.) Hide under a bridge or B.) Stay out in the open. While yes, the wind tunnel effect would make the situation dangerous due to wind tunnel effects, but equally so would staying in the open being pelted with rain, hail, buffering winds strong enough to throw vehicles (as evidenced in the first video) and potentially lethal debris (please refer to thrown vehicles in previous statement 😅). The wind isn't the most dangerous part of a tornado and its not normally what kills people, it's being crushed by debris from buildings and other things that the wind has destroyed. When given a choice between a rock and a hard place, I'm still going to choose the bridge every time.
Also, this is why I live in Idaho 😂
I read this with some interest because I'm in the habit of bicycling across country and have had days with tornado watches. My bicycle-friendly routes are rarely near an overpass, but there are sometimes ditches and the occasional culvert available, and I have wondered if they might provide some shelter. Most recently in 2021 I had weather alerts of tornado watch near me, and the wind was blowing me from side to side and hail was coming down. By sheer good luck I happened to reach the one town on my day's route at this time. At the one intersection in this town was a solid-looking building that turned out to be a bar. I went up to the door and found it unlocked, and inside dozens of people having a good time hiding out from the tornado. I got invited to bring my bicycle inside, and ate lunch, twice, while the tornado passed somewhere just out of town. Within an hour the sun was shining and all was clear. Next time I might be lying in a ditch.
Those who haven't been trained in tornado safety automatically think get under something to shelter from falling or flying debris and actually have to LEARN about the condensed airflow under an overpass - I know I did. Growing up in the 50s we dove under our desks in bomb drills so naturally it's under something for protection. Fortunately today's society is much more versed in up-to-date survival knowledge and getting that information out to those who may not live in tornado-prone areas lest they travel through such. Good video and wise information. :)
The most dangerous part of a tornado is the debris. You don't have to be hit by the tornado to have it throw a truck at you and even if you are inside the tornado while being picked up and thrown is always a terrifying possibility the threat remains debris. This is why you suggest buildings and ditches, because they provide potential protection. Wind is correlated, faster wind means faster debris, but the reason I am hesitant to say the overpass is a bad idea is because the structure could conceptually shield you from being impaled on a tv antenna or decapitated by a mailbox. The only fatality from a tornado I have ever been personally effected by was a 2X4 being rammed through a distant cousin's chest.
A few days ago, here in Oklahoma, we had countless tornado’s touchdown in our little town, but they didn’t last long. Our sirens kept going off… In our community, people were literally chilling out next to their storm shelters, watching tornado’s touchdown, last a few seconds then dissipating.
Growing up, we lived in an old house that was converted from a place where train conductors would stay because the track was right in front of this house and the old station nearby.
There were a few “hole in the grounds” we would call it, areas where there was a bridge and overpass that you could barely stand upright under but that’s where my mom would rush us under when we had tornado sirens, which in the delta of Mississippi, is often! That’s where my sister and I decided we wanted to become storm chasers (spoiler alert, didn’t happen)
However, thank God we never had a touchdown because we had no clue these were the worst place to be!
It’s amazing that I just saw this video tonight because Friday I had actually commented on another video about this very issue. Simple common sense is that if your stranded on the freeway and a big funnel is heading for you the bridge is gonna be better than nothing because it offers some strong protection.My suggestion was, states with a high number of tornadoes could easily modify the underneath areas with either a small steel or concrete wall on each side where the underpass meets the ground. A wall could be designed to redirect the wind away from the area people run to and would also provide something to get behind as well to protect people from fast moving debris.I wish I could post a simple sketch of what I’m thinking because an engineer could easily create it. Maybe one day someone will invest in an idea to modify at least most of the bridges in hot zone areas. Until then people should probably make the underpass their last option and try to out run the storm. Great video!
Could be a good idea but what you said at the end is kinda the truth. An overpass shouldn’t be a last option it should not even be an option. The safest place to be is not in the path, and barring traffic or obstructions (people blocking highway to hide under bridge) you will always be able to outrun tornadoes that very rarely move faster than like 60mph
@@amuricat2932 Overpasses are still an option, they are better than nothing, this video was not even remotely conclusive. If anything it proved that certain overpasses have in fact saved lives. But hey, you want to ride out a tornado in the middle of a field when you realize even experienced storm chases fail to out run tornadoes on the road then go for it.
@@bobbygetsbanned6049 All professional storm chasers and meteorologists that I have heard talk about overpasses in the last several years have come to the same conclusion -- they're not safe, and if you survive sheltering under one, you're very lucky. If you're driving and a tornado is coming and it's bucketing rain and blowing everywhere and your adrenaline is pumping, you aren't going to know whether the upcoming overpass has steel girders. At least most folks wouldn't be able to tell. Timmer and other storm chasers will tell you the ditch idea is safer, unless you KNOW you can safely outrun it.
Easy/ cheap option: spray paint a sign that says "do not shelter here during tornado"
It’s amazing how pervasive this ‘shelter under an overpass’ thing became.
One note I'd like to add in terms of avoiding a tornado -- Reed Timmer mentions this too, if it doesn't look like the tornado is moving it's either moving directly toward or directly away from you; if it looks like the left side is moving left, and right side is moving right, that means it's heading straight toward you.
So, really if you can see which way the tornado is heading it may already mean it's not heading straight toward you, it may be good just to pull over right where you are in that case.
My mom used to site that bridge video as a safe place and I for awhile believed that too.. I don’t anymore believe that. It’s crazy how many were affected by that early miss information
Miss Information, does she look good😁
@@Mehrunes86 lol.. oops. Got me there
@@joshpeterson2203 Hehe, couldn't help it🙂
If you can't determine where a tornado is going, i.e. it looks like it's standing still, there is a chance it is moving directly towards you.
One time in Oklahoma City on I-35 there were multiple Tornadoes as we were driving. The closest one was about 1/4 mile away coming towards us luckily it turned away. I stopped under an overpass and climbed upto the top. The tornado got within 1/8 of mile no injuries to my wife nor myself.
Thanks for sharing your video and information.
I grew up in Rural PA. I was always told if you are caught outside and can't get to an underground shelter to crawl in a culvert pipe.
I was also told NEVER take shelter in a barn. They aren't made to withstand that kind of force and you will be killed by the flying wood and debris.
Considering a bridge as shelter from a tornado is just like considering any other structure. Some are better shelter than others. If the bridge has those alcoves between the girders, get up in them as far as you can and press yourself into the corner. You can't just expect every bridge to be safe(r) just because it is a strong structure. If you have time, examine them first. Examine every option for shelter. including ditches, culverts, nearby buildings, anything. If there isn't anything suitable, then get to the lowest point you can, lie down flat, hold on to the grass or a pipe or something, and hope for the best.
It certainly is no worse than laying in a bathtub. If a strong tornado hits your house, you're likely going to get severely injured or killed anyway.
With no better options, I'd try a bridge, if it was the right kind of bridge.
Great video! I had no idea of the dangers of seeking shelter under overpasses, that's always what we were told to do. I lived in Northeast Texas growing up, so tornados were quite common there, which also makes it doubly surprising to me that this was the advised method if you were outside when one hit.
Very well made!