Why You Don't Stay in Your Car During a Tornado
UPDATE: WEDNESDAY 4/20/2011: SPC is now showing 317 tornado reports, 282 for the 2-day period. The number of confirmed tornadoes via LSR storm surveys is 63 and the spreadsheet has been updated. Here's how the tornado strengths break down:
TOTAL: 63
EF-0: 7
EF-1: 35
EF-2: 13
EF-3: 8
Here are some additional stats:
Folks, this is why you don't want to stay in your car during a tornado. Note the signpost protruding from the back and the engine sticking out over the hood in the front. And this was a mere EF-1 twister with winds of "only" 100 mph. Imagine what an EF-5 with winds over 200 mph could do!
This photo was taken Sunday by the National Weather Service in Atlanta, Georgia, who described the storm thusly in their official report. This tornado was one of over 50 tornadoes confirmed (see links below) from the weekend outbreak.
What should you do if you're caught in a car near a tornado?The Red Cross has some advice, depending on the situation. In a recent Facebook Question poll with nearly 2,000 respondents, 47% of AccuWeather.com Fans said they would monitor a local weather station during severe weather while mobile. 20% would monitor their cell phone for weather alerts, but unfortunately 13% of our Fans would not be alerted until they saw the twister. Then again, about 40 people voted for "Auntie Em" or "Flying Cows."
How many tornadoes really occurred last weekend? There appear to have been 50-60 tornadoes confirmed so far from last weekend, out of 289 total spotter reports (which included multiple reports of the same twisters). Additional details are available from these links:
National NWS LSR Spreadsheet (48 Tornadoes Confirmed)
National Storm Prediction Center (289 Tornadoes Reported - 261 In Two Days)
NWS Raleigh, NC (25 Tornadoes Confirmed)
NWS Columbia, SC (1 Tornado Confirmed)
NWS Atlanta, GA (3 Tornadoes Confirmed)
NWS Birmingham, AL (15 Tornadoes Confirmed)
NWS Jackson, MS (12 Tornadoes Confirmed)
