Weather Imagery

Ignoring a hurricane evacuation order and riding it out is a very risky and potentially fatal decision for a number of reasons. Hurricanes are a very serious storm that should never be taken lightly. If local officials are telling you to evacuate, it’s best to take their advice and get out of harms way, regardless of how big the hurricane is at that point in time.

Hurricanes travel great distances and can have very irregular paths. As an example, in 1995, hurricane Roxanne had one of the most bizarre paths recorded in recent times. The hurricane actually backtracked, stalled, then went forward again. Although irregular, this is not uncommon and shows the unpredictability of a hurricanes path.

Although the National Hurricane Center sends out projected paths a hurricane may take, there are probabilities tied to these projections. With each hour that goes by, the projections change and as a result, so do the probabilities of landfall locations and intensities. One may think that because their location isn’t even in the 72-hour projected path, they are safe. This isn’t true. The conditions 3-days out probably indicated the hurricane would miss them, but say the next day comes around and some other influences have now entered the equation (high pressure ridge over the mid-west, shift in the sub-tropical jet stream). The 48-hour projection may now have your location as a direct hit and instead of a the hurricane being a category 2, it’s now a category 4. Don’t think this doesn’t happen …. it does and has. Hurricane Wilma intensified from a Tropical Storm to Category 5 Hurricane in just 16 hours with a wind speed increase from 70 mph to 155 mph.

If at the last minute you realize the storm has greatly intensified and you don’t want to ride it out anymore, getting out of town may be near impossible. There will most certainly be traffic jams and finding a place to stay will be difficult at best. You may find your family sleeping in the car on the side of the road someplace exposed to the elements. Even though the self-pay gas stations might be open for business, that’s not to say

they will have gas. Tanker trucks will not be enter an area under a hurricane warning and with a majority of the people leaving town, gas could be very difficult to find.

If the overall wind speed is around 105mph, that doesn’t mean the wind will never exceed that. Hurricanes often have mini-tornadoes embedded within the eye wall where the wind speeds are considerably higher. Extensive destruction can happen on a very localized scale despite the fact the hurricane is only a category 2. There is no way to predict where these localized winds will occur which is almost always why there are tornado warnings associated with hurricanes.

So it’s best to watch the news closely if a hurricane is approaching your area. Evacuating only to find out the hurricane missed you is far better than rolling the dice, sticking around, then wishing you hadn’t. Don’t gamble you families life to save face.

Other Hurricane Postings

• Taping Windows Preparing for a Hurricane
• Hurricane Intensity Scale

Many believe they can outrun a tornado in a car or on a motorcycle and while it’s true both are faster than tornadoes, the biggest downfall to this logic is they must also stay on the road and obey traffic laws. They might think, well, if a tornado is chasing me I’m not stopping at any stop sign or stop light! I’m getting out of Dodge as fast as I can! Following this logic may be more dangerous than trying to outrun the tornado itself. Chances are you will get hit by someone else who is thinking the exact same thing. Then both of you won’t be going anywhere in a hurry.

With your windshield blown out and hail slamming you in the face, you’re going to slow down. Driving over hail can be just as bad as driving on ice. If the road suddenly turns, you’re going to have to slow down.

So the best thing to do is not try and outrun a tornado if within city limits. It’s best to get inside a building, and if it has a basement, get as low as you can. If it doesn’t, then go to the most interior room. But getting in a car and trying to outrun the tornado could be fatal, especially if a lot of other people are trying to do the same thing. And don’t be fooled into thinking your car will offer any protection if the tornado catches you. The tornado will simply pick your car up, with you in it, and throw it hundreds of feet. If you are out on an open country road, make sure you stay on paved roads as they are least likely to suddenly end or get washed out with torrential rains often associated with large thunderstorms. Obey the traffic laws and don’t drive 120 mph down the road. Try and find a well established road that travels perpendicular to the tornado’s current path. If it doesn’t look like you can get out of the tornado’s path, get out of your car and lay in a ditch as low to the ground as possible. That may sound insane, but the winds speeds are dramatically slower the closer you are to the ground. Even a small ditch will be safer than inside your car.

Other Tornado Myths

• Do Mobile Home Attract Tornadoes?
• Does Opening Windows During a Tornado Help?
• Is The Southwest Corner Safest?
• Do Highway Overpasses Provide Safety?
• Tornadoes Never Hit Big Cities?