...
By Thomas Westerholm
Life & Trends Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Multiple tornados have already hit the United States this year, sweeping across the Midwest months before tornado season traditionally begins.
Tornadoes in Michigan and Oklahoma left eight dead earlier this week and two more were killed in Illinois and Indiana on Tuesday.
In a viral video with more than 6.2 million views, TikTok user virginia.weather.wizard issued an important reminder for people who find themselves on the road during a tornado: Never shelter under an overpass.
Read More on Weather
"One of the classic beliefs about tornadoes is that a highway overpass is the safest place to be when your in a car," the user wrote in the caption of their video.
"It is the opposite."
...
The Highway Overpass Myth
The Overpass Myth—a concept centered on the idea that wind only goes up and an overpass prevents wind from going up— has been discredited by experts.
In reality, according to the National Weather Service (NWS), overpasses actually create a wind tunnel and the flying debris presents a massive risk.
The myth, according to the NWS, may have originated in 1991, when bystanders during a Wichita, Kansas tornado safely sheltered under an overpass with a television crew that filmed the storm.
The video captured by the crew gave credence to the idea that the concrete structures were safer than being out in the open.
Several factors, however, worked in favor of the people who sheltered from the Kansas tornado.
First, the overpass had a small crawlspace that provided extra protection. Second, the tornado wasn't powerful—designated as a low-level F1 by the NWS—and it didn't go directly over the structure.
Perhaps most notably, the tornado occurred in a very rural area, where little debris was thrown into the air.
"As this video has been shown over the years, it has been promoted in the light that these people ‘miraculously’ survived this tornado by ‘wisely’ seeking shelter under the bridge," the NWS wrote.
"Frankly, nothing could be farther from the truth."
The Bridge-Creek Moore Tornado
In 1999, a massive F5 tornado tore through southern parts of Oklahoma City, with record wind speeds of up to 321 miles per hour. The tornado covered more than 38 miles and killed 36 people.
During that storm, three people were killed trying to shelter under various overpasses—two who left their vehicles and attempted to find safety outside their vehicles and one who remained in his car and was thrown into an embankment and killed.
At one particularly harrowing bridge location, so many people tried to shelter under the overpass that it became "a parking lot," according to the NWS.
Roughly 12 people tried to shelter under the bridge and while the NWS noted that while only one died, all but one of the survivors suffered "horrific" and life-threatening injuries.
"Their injuries included, but are not limited to: compound fractures and shattered bones, missing fingers, missing ears, missing noses and being impaled by pieces of shingles, 2x4s, etc.," the NWS wrote.
"The most important point here is this: seeking shelter under the overpass resulted in the highway becoming blocked, trapping people in the path of a violent tornado with no options other than a ditch, an overpass or their vehicle—all terrible options."
What to Do
The NWS recommends that if you find yourself stuck outside in a tornado, your best bet is to look for shelter as quickly as possible.
If none is available, try to find the lowest ground available and cover your head as best you can.
Newsweek has reached out to the NWS for comment via email.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines