KTTC employees take on “Tornado Fact or Fiction”

So now that we know a little bit about severe weather, we decided to test our colleagues’ knowledge to see if they know what to do in severe weather situations.

Starting with Andy from promotions, “True or false, tornadoes can cross bodies of water?”

Andy: “I think that’s false, I don’t think they can go across water.”

But that’s actually true! Tornadoes can cross bodies of water, go up hill and travel across all types of terrain.

Next up is Naomi: “True or false, most tornadoes occur in the afternoon and evening.”

Naomi guessed true and she was correct! Even though tornadoes can occur at any time of day, they occur most often between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Then we headed into the news studio to test Tom Overlie, “Tom, true or false there have been tornadoes reported on 6 of the 7 continents.”

Tom: “I would say true, and I would also add that there has not been a tornado on Antarctica. I just can’t imagine a tornado occurring down there in the snow.”

And that’s exactly right! The conditions have never been exactly right for a tornado to occur, but that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible.

Next up is Caitlin Alexander: “Caitlin, true or false: when a tornado warning has been issued, you should go around your house and open all the windows the equalize the pressure.”

Caitlin guessed false, which is correct! This is a common old wive’s tale, equalizing the pressure will not have any effect on how much damage is done to your house. The majority of damage is usually done by flying debris.

Zach is next, “You should or should not seek shelter in the southwest corner of your basement?”

Zach guessed correctly but saying false. Tornadoes can strike from any direction, so the southwest corner isn’t necessarily safer than another corner of your basement. The safest location in your basement should be determined by how far you are away from windows and outside walls.

The only person who got one wrong was Andy, so we went back to see if he could redeem himself. “Andy, true or false tornadoes never hit the same place twice.”

Luckily, Andy was able to redeem himself by saying false!

Hopefully this fun trivia also helped you brush up on your severe weather knowledge.

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