How to survive a tornado

NOVA | Hunt for the Supertwister | Shelter From the Storm | PBS: "NOVA: What if you're not in your house? Where should you go?

Marshall: Well, a couple of things have cropped up in the last few years that have alarmed me. One is that a ditch or an open depression is a good place to be. It's not, because that's a debris accumulation zone. We see more ditches filled with cars and boards and everything else. Another is that somehow underpasses are shelters. Drivers stop at a highway overpass, climb up underneath a girder, and think that's a safe place. Ninety-five percent of the time it's not."

Comment -- Interesting interview with engineer and tornado expert Tim Marshall. He says if you are in your car, drive away from the tornado -- you will likely outrun it.

If you are in your house, get to an inside bathroom -- the plumbing will keep the room from flying away. He does not mention basements, maybe because few houses outside the Midwest have basements.

Also, it's not usually the wind that kills people, it's the debris that's flying around in the wind.