TEXAS, USA — Tornado season is approaching, which means it's the perfect time to educate and prepare your family for a dangerous situation.
This can be hard, however, because many myths exist about tornadoes. These myths can be life-threatening if you believe them.
Here are some fast fact-checks on popular tornado claims.
Our sources are Matthew Stalley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, and Dr. Chris Nowotarski, Associate Professor for Texas A&M's Atmospheric Sciences Department.
THE QUESTION:
Does opening your window help reduce the pressure of a tornado?
THE ANSWER:
WHAT WE FOUND:
"Most houses are not airtight," Nowotarski said. "So opening the windows really does not do much to prevent the pressure differential from exploding your windows."
"By opening windows, you are actually kind of wasting precious time to get to safety," Stalley added.
Opening your windows can even be more dangerous.
"It really just kind of invites more, if anything, more debris to be blown into your home," Stalley said.
THE QUESTION:
Should you seek shelter under an overpass or bridge if you're driving and a tornado hits?
THE ANSWER:
WHAT WE FOUND:
Experts warn this is not a safe space.
"If you're trying to get up under the bridge, you think you're protected there, but in certain situations that can actually increase the wind speed and the flow and may not be any safer," Nowotarski said.
These structures serve almost like debris collectors as well.
"In actuality, those places can actually be more dangerous than if you were farther away from those," Stalley said.
THE QUESTION:
Does a green sky mean a tornado will come down any minute?
THE ANSWER:
WHAT WE FOUND:
"When you see severe thunderstorms, they do have a kind of a turquoise, bluish green color to them," Nowotarski said. "That has to do with just the way the light from the sun is scattered by the heavy rain and potentially the hail in the storm. That happens often even without tornadoes. Whether the sky is green versus not green has far more to do with where the storm is relative to you and the sun than it does to whether or not there's going to be a tornado."
The best thing to do is find a safe spot in your home when severe weather hits. The 6 News weather team will be on top of whatever develops to keep you weather aware.
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