Should you crack windows during a tornado

For added protection get under something sturdy a heavy table or workbench. Cover your body with a blanket, sleeping bag or mattress.

Do not stay in a mobile home. When wind enters through any open door or window, it can create even more pressure on the roof. To ensure that your roof stays put and that you and your family stay out of harm's way, close all interior doors , windows, and exterior doors of your home. There is no need to open up any window in your home during a hurricane or any similar natural disaster, like a tornado. So experts — including scientists — began to spread the notion that it's best to open up a window , to allow the pressure from the outside to equalize with the inside.

Seeking shelter in a bathtub can help save your life during a tornado. The bathroom has strong framing and the pipes in the walls could help hold them together, according to Tornadoproject. While a bathroom can provide protection during a tornado , the basement is still the best place to go if you have one.

There are several atmospheric warning signs that precipitate a tornado's arrival: A dark, often greenish, sky. Wall clouds or an approaching cloud of debris. Large hail often in the absence of rain. In a house with no basement, a dorm, or an apartment: Avoid windows. Go to the lowest floor, small center room like a bathroom or closet , under a stairwell, or in an interior hallway with no windows. Crouch as low as possible to the floor, facing down; and cover your head with your hands.

A funnel cloud is a funnel - shaped cloud of condensed water droplets, associated with a rotating column of wind and extending from the base of a cloud usually a cumulonimbus or towering cumulus cloud but not reaching the ground or a water surface. Cracking your windows can allow even more air pressure to build up within your home as the winds whip through your residence. Currently, scientists agree that cracking your windows during a hurricane is antiquated advice that will not only not help prevent damage, but can actually lead to more destruction.

The thinking behind this idea is that the extreme low pressure in a tornado would cause the air in your house to explode. It turns out that the strong winds associated with a tornado can lift the roof off a house. Without the support of the roof, the wall are blown down and they fall outward. Although there is no completely safe place during a tornado, some locations are much safer than others.

If you are caught by extreme winds or flying debris, park the car as quickly and safely as possible -- out of the traffic lanes. Stay in the car with the seat belt on. Put your head down below the windows; cover your head with your hands and a blanket, coat, or other cushion if possible. Science Buzz is supported by the National Science Foundation. Science Buzz. Be a part of the Buzz! Register or log in. Tornado Window Myth Dispelled by Joe 5 comments. Post new comment What's your name:.

E-mail: The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly. Explore « prev. Recent comments Should ancient artifacts return home? What is the purpose of museums? To educate the next generation.

How are we to be educated when Great White Squirrels: Are they albinos? We saw a completely white squirrel today on our walk to the end of our street and back. We live in The hypothetical result? An exploding house. Now, when this theory was actually put to the test? Researchers found it didn't hold up. Leaving windows open actually caused the force of the tornado to push up on the roof of the house, while the gusts of the twister lifted the roof.

Open windows and doors, in other words, resulted in an airborne roof [source: Williams ]. The bottom line? A tornado is much too strong to "equalize" with the pressure of a house, and if it wants to let itself in through open windows or doors — you better believe it has an aggressive way of doing it.

Instead of wasting time running to unlatch locks or open shutters, get yourself to a safe place in the house, hunker down and wait it out. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar.