Overpass myth
{{Use mdy dates|date = February 2025}}
{{Short description|Misconception regarding overpasses}}
{{Infobox
| name = Overpass myth
| title = Overpass myth
| image = 300px
| caption = An overpass impacted by the 1999 Bridge Creek-Moore tornado, where two people died
| label1 = Type
| data1 = Tornado myth
| label2 = Fatalities attributed to myth
| data2 = >2
| label3 = Hazards
| data3 = {{Bulleted list|Flying debris
|Intense winds}}
}}
The overpass myth, also known as the tornado overpass myth, refers to a common misconception that overpasses, usually located on highways, are a safe location to take shelter during a tornado. The myth gained mainstream attention in 1991 and has been responsible for numerous deaths as a result of tornadoes, notably during the 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado.
History
The myth first gained mainstream attention in 1991, when a video of a news crew sheltering under an overpass during a tornado in Kansas was spread across the United States, being watched by millions of people during newscasts and other television outlets.{{Cite web |title=Myth or Misconception #5 .... Highway overpasses are a safe place to shelter if you are on the road when you see a tornado coming. |url=https://www.tornadoproject.com/safety/myths.htm |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=Tornado Project}} The video led many viewers to believe that overpasses were safe places to take shelter during tornadoes. The news crew survived with only minor injuries, further leading people to believe the myth.{{Cite web |last=Bartlett |first=Jared |date=2017-07-20 |title=Tornado Myths Busted |url=https://www.ndgroup.com/tornado-myths-busted |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=N&D Group |language=en-US}} In May 1997, several drivers and videographers took shelter under a highway overpass to avoid a deadly F5 tornado that hit Jarrell, Texas; the overpass narrowly avoided being struck.{{Cite web |date=May 23, 2022 |title='Hold on tight': 25 years since the Jarrell, TX tornado outbreak |url=https://www.kxan.com/weather/jarrell-tornado-survivors-remember-the-last-f5-to-hit-central-texas-25-years-later/ |access-date=February 27, 2025 |website=KXAN}} One of the deadliest instances of the overpass myth being followed occurred on May 3, 1999, when two people were killed and over a dozen more were injured while sheltering under several overpasses from a violent tornado near Moore, Oklahoma. As a result, the myth was addressed by the National Weather Service at that year's National Weather Association Annual Meeting in Biloxi, Mississippi.{{Cite web |title=Highway Overpasses as Tornado Shelters: Fallout From the 3 May 1999 Oklahoma/Kansas Violent Tornado Outbreak |url=https://www.weather.gov/oun/safety-overpass |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=National Weather Service |language=EN-US}}
In a February 2024 publication of First Coast News, Dr. Harold Brooks with the National Weather Service stated in an interview with the channel that "Going under an overpass is just not a good idea for tornado safety. What we really want to think about with what makes something safe in a tornado is we're worried about horizontal winds, and we're not so much worried about debris falling on top of you but worried about stuff blowing sideways at you".{{Cite web |date=2024-02-29 |title=VERIFY: No, you should not seek shelter under an overpass in a tornado |url=https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/verify/verify-no-you-should-not-seek-shelter-under-an-overpass-in-a-tornado-jakcsonville-weather/77-c18b9fd1-12bc-4ae8-a4cf-9824abd346aa |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=First Coast News |language=en-US}}
Hazards
File:1991 Kansas tornado overpass.gif
Several meteorologists have advocated that overpasses are insufficient shelter from tornado winds and debris, and may be among the worst places to take refuge during a violent tornado.{{Cite web |title=Tornado Safety & the Dangers of Highway Overpasses |url=http://www.weathersafety.ohio.gov/TornadoSafety.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170815061252/http://www.weathersafety.ohio.gov/TornadoSafety.aspx |archive-date=2017-08-15 |access-date=2017-08-14 |website=Weather Safety Ohio |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2019-07-09 |title=The Truth Behind 7 Common Tornado Myths |url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/outdoors/a10474/tornado-myths/ |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=Popular Mechanics |language=en-US}} The embankment under an overpass is higher than the surrounding terrain, and the wind speed increases with height. Additionally, the overpass design may create a wind tunnel effect under the span, further increasing the wind speed. Many overpasses are completely exposed underneath and most lack hanging girders or a crawlspace-like area to provide sufficient protection from debris, which can travel at high speeds even in weak tornadoes. People stopping underneath overpasses may also block the flow of traffic, putting others in danger.{{cite web |date=2007-12-12 |title=Severe Weather Safety Guide |url=http://www.crh.noaa.gov/images/pah/pdf/tornadosafety.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021080902/http://www.crh.noaa.gov/images/pah/pdf/tornadosafety.pdf |archive-date=2012-10-21 |access-date=June 29, 2009 |publisher=National Weather Service Paducah, Kentucky}}
Dangers involving overpasses during tornado events include flying debris impaling people taking shelter under overpasses, people being blown out from under the overpass,{{Cite web |date=2013-03-28 |title=5 Tornado Safety Myths Debunked |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna51363649 |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=NBC News |language=en}} a structural failure of the overpass itself and other non-deadly hazards, including stopped vehicles under overpasses making it difficult for emergency vehicles to reach a tornado disaster site.{{Cite web |title=Severe Weather Awareness - Common Tornado Myths |url=https://www.weather.gov/mkx/taw-tornado_myths |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=National Weather Service |language=EN-US}}{{Cite news |date=2019-07-11 |title=The truth behind 6 common tornado myths |url=https://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/The-truth-behind-6-common-tornado-myths-14088890.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711205534/https://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/The-truth-behind-6-common-tornado-myths-14088890.php |archive-date=July 11, 2019 |access-date=2025-02-27 |work=GreenwichTime |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Common Tornado Myths |url=https://www.tuscaloosacountyema.org/posts/2023/02/08/httpsweathercomsafetytornadonews2020-03-19-common-tornado-myths-busted |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=Tuscaloosa County Emergency Management Agency |language=en}}
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Depiction in media
The myth is referenced in the 2024 movie Twisters, when the main characters take shelter under an overpass at the beginning of the movie, resulting in the deaths of several people.{{Cite web |title=Twisters movie, tornado facts |url=https://masgc.org/article/seen-the-new-twisters-movie-here-are-the-facts-vs-science-fiction |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=NOAA |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title='Twisters' Filming Map Highlights Oklahoma's Cinematic Landscapes |url=https://www.velocityokc.com/blog/inside-okc/twisters-filming-map-highlights-oklahoma-s-cinematic-landscapes/ |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=Velocity OKC |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2024-07-24 |title=Twisters: What does it get right and what does it get wrong? |url=https://www.wvtf.org/2024-07-24/twisters-what-does-it-get-right-and-what-does-it-get-wrong |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=WVTF |language=en}}
See also
References
= Sources =
- {{Cite web |last=Meyer |first=D.M.L. |date=2021 |title=Tornado-strength winds interacting with a highway overpass |url=https://thesimonscenter.org/featured-articles/featured-article-lessons-learned-from-the-may-2007-greensburg-tornado/ |access-date=February 27, 2025 |website=University of Rhode Island}}
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