tornado safety practise controversy...

[torpid]

Originally posted by: dainthomas

Originally posted by: torpid

Originally posted by: dainthomas

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: Crono
Is there really any way that lying flat on the ground, when you are in an open area with no shelter, is better than being in a vehicle?

That always stuck me as funny as well. Hey, there's all this shrapnel flying at 180+ Mph...you're best bet is to get out in the open!

Right, like the impenetrable window glass on your 98 Civic will stop a telephone pole. Lying flat on the ground (in the lowest area possible) presents a very minimal cross section for the wind to push against. As opposed to your car which not only presents a large cross section but the wind will get underneath it and scoop it up. Additionally, there will be far more debris several feet off the ground than at immediate ground level. You people would be hamburger after getting flung a mile and a half in your car, assuming you're not already impaled by a fence post or something.

The Red Cross should stick to handing out blankets and donuts and leave the science to the scientists.

Where can I find the study you did that led you to the above conclusion, mighty scientist? The Red Cross based their recommendations on an actual study done by scientists, BTW. So it seems they are indeed leaving the science to the scientists.

It's called physics. On a very windy day, tie a string to a stick and let go of it. What happens? Now attach a piece of fabric to the stick. Congratulations, you're flying a kite.

I'll take the word of scientists who study only weather (which includes wind) and its effects over "The Advisory Council for First Aid, Aquatics, Safety and Preparedness". You act like the NWS just pulled that advice out of their ass because they get their jollies from watching people die. I'm pretty sure they have their own studies to back it up.

You don't get it still. The advisory council is not the group that did the study. They made recommendations based on existing studies. Including work done by people who "study only weather" at places like Kent State University. You act like the red cross just pulled that advice out of their ass because they get their jollies from watching people die. Now please do me a favor and find any evidence of a study that demonstrates that a car is less safe than a ditch. You won't find any, because it is based on assumptions and not actual facts.

 

[jtvang125]

If you're that close to the tornado you're basically fucked. By advising you get into a car your dead body will likely be in one piece and in one place. Much easier to clean up.

 

[torpid]

Originally posted by: jtvang125
If you're that close to the tornado you're basically fucked. By advising you get into a car your dead body will likely be in one piece and in one place. Much easier to clean up.

Depends on the severity of the tornado - but seemingly your odds are pretty good.

See here

 

[guitarslingerchris]

Originally posted by: sao123
Text

buckle up and drive away from the storm at a right angle.

Maybe this is just me being dumb, but I've seen alot of tornadoes in my day and I don't recall seeing a right angle coming off a single point, or a circular 'object'. My best guess suggests that a right angle is ANY angle... What am I missing here?

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: guitarslingerchris

Originally posted by: sao123
Text

buckle up and drive away from the storm at a right angle.

Maybe this is just me being dumb, but I've seen alot of tornadoes in my day and I don't recall seeing a right angle coming off a single point, or a circular 'object'. My best guess suggests that a right angle is ANY angle... What am I missing here?

Right angle to the path the funnel is traveling.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: sao123
im inclinded to go with the red cross... your vehicle is a safer place to be (the windows are safety glass)... should protect you from debris... and should be heavy enough (except in the most pwoerful of storms) to prevent you from being picked up and deposited elsewhere (dead)

The size and weight of the vehicle is the reason you don't want to be in it. They're easy to pick up and toss. Plus if its storming, its really hard to see - so a bunch of drivers running away from a storm are bound to create a lot of accidents.

 

[torpid]

Originally posted by: SagaLore

Originally posted by: sao123
im inclinded to go with the red cross... your vehicle is a safer place to be (the windows are safety glass)... should protect you from debris... and should be heavy enough (except in the most pwoerful of storms) to prevent you from being picked up and deposited elsewhere (dead)

The size and weight of the vehicle is the reason you don't want to be in it. They're easy to pick up and toss. Plus if its storming, its really hard to see - so a bunch of drivers running away from a storm are bound to create a lot of accidents.

See the above link I posted, which seems to offer evidence that cars don't often get picked up and tossed in a tornado.

 

[badkarma1399]

Mythbusters should do a show on this.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: badkarma1399
Mythbusters should do a show on this.

Yeah, I get the feeling their conclusion would be that if a funnel is gonna drop on top of you, you're fucked in any case.

Still totally worth doing a show about.

 

[fatpat268]

Originally posted by: badkarma1399
Mythbusters should do a show on this.

Wow, I was just about to come in here and suggest that myself.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: torpid

Originally posted by: SagaLore

Originally posted by: sao123
im inclinded to go with the red cross... your vehicle is a safer place to be (the windows are safety glass)... should protect you from debris... and should be heavy enough (except in the most pwoerful of storms) to prevent you from being picked up and deposited elsewhere (dead)

The size and weight of the vehicle is the reason you don't want to be in it. They're easy to pick up and toss. Plus if its storming, its really hard to see - so a bunch of drivers running away from a storm are bound to create a lot of accidents.

See the above link I posted, which seems to offer evidence that cars don't often get picked up and tossed in a tornado.

hmm weird. every time a tornado hits and there are pictures there are always some fo cars thrown around.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Originally posted by: sao123
The studies led the Red Cross to issue the new advisory, which states if immediate shelter in a basement or sturdy building cannot be found, people should get into a vehicle, buckle up and drive away from the storm at a right angle

So you're meant to drive in a circle around the storm?

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: GodlessAstronomer

Originally posted by: sao123
The studies led the Red Cross to issue the new advisory, which states if immediate shelter in a basement or sturdy building cannot be found, people should get into a vehicle, buckle up and drive away from the storm at a right angle

So you're meant to drive in a circle around the storm?

Exactly. When you drive anti-clockwise to the wind direction, it diffuses the storm, and you can save your neighbors :^P

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Originally posted by: guitarslingerchris

Originally posted by: sao123
Text

buckle up and drive away from the storm at a right angle.

Maybe this is just me being dumb, but I've seen alot of tornadoes in my day and I don't recall seeing a right angle coming off a single point, or a circular 'object'. My best guess suggests that a right angle is ANY angle... What am I missing here?

This is how I interpreted it.
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/iamaelephant/tornado.jpg

As you can see, if you continue to drive at a right angle away from the storm, you will circle around it.

 

[DrPizza]

The more I think about it, the more my intuition tells me that driving away at a right angle to the path of the tornado is not the optimal solution. As I thought about the problem, it looks like a fun, challenging math problem.

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
The more I think about it, the more my intuition tells me that driving away at a right angle to the path of the tornado is not the optimal solution. As I thought about the problem, it looks like a fun, challenging math problem.

You got it right. While the storm itself is circular, it travels in a (unpredictable) straight path. 90° to the storm's path is the best approach.

 

[Modelworks]

This is really on topic for me right now.
A friend of my brother just lost parts of a turkey farm in NC about two hours ago to a tornado. Also got a call from my niece that her college in Raleigh sent everyone indoors and sounded the sirens because of funnel clouds.
I lived through one tornado when I was 16. Damaged house, actually picked it up and dropped it onto the foundation , cracking the concrete to bits, uprooted trees, and killed my neighbors dog that was outside chained to his doghouse. At least we think he is dead since we never found him. I did the 'get in bathroom" approach to safety.

If I were outside , seeing the damage close up, a car might be ok depending on the car. I wouldn't get into a compact model, that tornado did toss them around like toys. Things like pickup trucks and larger vehicles did move , about 20-30 feet, maybe turned on their sides, but nothing like the compact cars that were tossed a hundred feet+ and rolled around.

Ditch ? I don't know. Depends on the ditch. If it was a deep one I would go , but these shallow ones you see in cities, no way. Might as well lay on the ground.


Not good in Raleigh right now
http://www.wral.com/weather/doppler5000/?m=wake

 

[marvdmartian]

Anyone who's ever seen Twister knows that you're okay in the vehicle, even if the tornado picks it up into the air........


........it's just the crash landing, and subsequent explosion, that might not be too enjoyable!! :laugh: