No special effects: The non-cinematic realities of a tornado

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Published Date 7/25/2024

When Dorothy grabbed Toto and tried to get back home before a tornado hit, it made good movie fodder. And more recently, when actor Glen Powell set off fireworks in the middle of one in the movie Twisters as the “tornado wrangler,” we were intrigued. Man battling nature.

In reality, however, for people who live in tornado-prone states, there is nothing entertaining about them. Realtor’s Julie Gerstein writes, “According to the National Weather Service, the U.S. experiences around 1,000 tornadoes each year—and that number is on the rise.” She adds that the past four years have been the most tornado-heavy on record, with 125 tornadoes recorded over a one-week period in May of 2024.

Even with building codes addressing guidelines to make homes less vulnerable to these events, the explosion in home construction in tornado-prone areas has increased the possibility of damage. Why? Homes are now being built closer together than ever before, increasing the likelihood that debris and detritus from one home can cause damage to another.

Gerstein outlines what should homeowners know about tornadoes, and how they can protect themselves—and their homes—in the event a real-life twister hits.

Tornado Alley is composed of Kansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, and parts of Texas — where tornado activity is seen most. They are also among the states with the highest insurance premiums in the country.

Tornadoes don’t limit themselves to those states, however. They’ve been known to occur in every part of the country, including New York City, where a 2010 tornado caused more than $65 million in damages. Nationwide, tornadoes caused $708 million in damages in 2022.

Getting more scientific, tornadoes are measured on the Fujita Scale of intensity. The lowest-intensity tornadoes, rated F0s, will break branches off trees and cause damage to some chimneys. The highest-intensity tornadoes, rated F5s, have wind speeds of 261–318 mph, and anything and everything goes in their paths. Homes that are less structurally robust, such as mobile homes and wood-framed homes, are often knocked off their foundations.

Can a house completely flip over, as in Dorothy’s dream? Gerstein cites meteorologist Matthew Cappucci, who says he’s seen it happen a couple of times, including during a 2011 tornado in Central Massachusetts. He recalls seeing a home flip over from the force of the winds, flying through the air and disintegrating over his head as he chased a storm in Iowa.

“Tornado-proofing” a house is not an exact science. But it is essential for homeowners to understand local building codes for guidelines on how houses should be built. These codes contain provisions on how to retrofit an existing home to better withstand tornadoes. “Reinforced concrete and steel are strong and durable and provide better resistance to high winds and flying debris,” says ServiceMaster Restore’s Duncanson, vice president of training and development.

“Impact-resistant windows are designed to withstand extreme forces without shattering,” he adds. “In contrast, wood structures can be easily damaged or destroyed by strong winds, and standard glass shatters upon impact, posing additional hazards.”

Mitigating tornado damage includes making sure your home’s walls, roof, and foundation are all firmly connected, creating a “continuous load path” that evenly distributes the force of strong winds.

Many homes built in tornado-prone climates after 1990 were constructed with the continuous load path in mind, but others will need to be retrofitted with anchor bolts and hurricane straps, which are stainless or galvanized steel connectors that help reinforce the connection between the roof and walls of the structure. Hurricane straps help to prevent a roof being blown completely off of a house.

“It’s all about anchoring,” says MyRadar’s Cappucci, who says even if the structure of a house can escape a tornado’s fury, the house can still succumb because it’s tossed off its foundation. “A well-anchored home can usually withstand winds to 160 or 170 mph with at least the inner bones still intact, which would potentially offer some refuge for people inside to survive.”

If you’re interested in protecting your home against potential wind damage, Gerstein’s research points to the Fortified program, run by IBHS — a voluntary construction standard program poised to better protect your home against extreme weather. Many insurance companies offer discounted rates to homeowners who have gone through the process.

A fully retrofitted home might be cost-prohibitive, so it’s wise to focus on fortifying the roof and the garage door, since they can have the biggest impact on the resilience of the home. Garage doors get blasted first, allowing wind to enter the home and pop the roof off. When the cost of retrofitting your roof or garage door is untenable, there are also plenty of no-cost things you can do to minimize damage, according to experts.

If you know there’s a storm on the horizon:

Clear your yard of potential debris.
Close the internal areas of your home. Even just closing the internal doors between rooms can have a huge impact.
If you’re in the midst of a tornado, put on your bike helmet or use a comforter or pillow to protect your head and hunker down underground in a basement or at least in a room toward the center of your house.

Above all, develop a plan in advance. Tornadoes happen, and you can be prepared for them by making a list of actions ahead of time. Find your safe space and have it cleared out and ready to occupy while nature takes its course.

Realtor, TBWS

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