Why do tornadoes almost always hit trailer parks? (1 Viewer)

[SteveA]

Why is it that almost every time there is a tornado, it touches down in a trailer park? We had several tornadoes hit Virginia the other night - and 2 of them destroyed trailers. Virginia, unlike some other southeastern states, is not densely populated by mobile homes. Is there any scientific explanation for why they get hit so often?

 

[Glenn Overholt]

No, it's not scientific. Its just that God knows that we are short of aluminum, so he hits another one!
Glenn

 

[DaveF]

Is there any scientific explanation for why they get hit so often?

Yes. It's a well-known fact that trailer parks actually spawn tornadoes. (Being from Indiana, I've seen the remains of trailer parks -- not pretty.)
Seriously, I think it's because trailer parks are pretty common in the mid-west, where the majority of tornadoes hit. And because trailers are so fragile (relative to other buildings) they are readily obliterated by a tornado. They Trailer parks are also usually pretty dense, so many trailers are destroyed in even a small encounter. So there is a huge amount of material destruction in a small area, especially compared to destruction seen in a more spacious area, with stronger buildings.
Just my unscientific thoughts.

 

[Kevin P]

I'm probably way off base here (I'm no expert on tornadoes or trailers), but tornadoes tend to form in flat areas, and where do people put trailers? In flat areas!
Houses, on the other hand, can be built on hills, or have landscaping (trees) that make it less "flat", and perhaps tornadoes are less likely to touch down in such locations.
Also, trailers tend to be crowded together in trailer parks, so if a tornado hits, it causes massive damage, and you hear about it. Houses are spread further apart, so you're less likely to have a whole neighborhood taken out.
KJP

 

[Philip_G]

I think it's probably a bit of all these, plus the construction of older mobile homes makes for quite spectacular damage, which makes the news more frequently than your average subdivision missing a roof or two

 

[Jay Taylor]

For every one of those rare large tornadoes that hit houses there are dozens of smaller ones that only occasionally touch down. They spend much of their time just above house top level or receding back into the clouds.
A near miss by a small tornado may cause a house to lose a few shingles.
The same near miss may totally destroy a trailer.
Like DaveF said, they’re fragile.
Jay Taylor

 

[Richard Travale]

What do a Hurricane in Florida, a Tornado in Nebraska and a divorce in Alabama have in common?
Someones guaranteed to lose a trailer

------------------
Rich
"A) You can never go too far and B) If I'm going to get busted it is NOT going to be by a guy like DAT."
My Website

 

[chris_sharpe]

Well as the long cancelled cartoon "Eek the Cat" pointed out the national weather service ensures that at least one trailer park is destroyed per every tornado to prevent over population of trailer parks.

------------------
MY POWER ANIMAL TOLD ME TO SLIDE.
[Edited last by chris_sharpe on September 26, 2001 at 06:15 PM]

 

[Alex Spindler]

Because Tornadoes have good judgement

------------------
Bombardment Society - Member

 

[Nathan*W]

[James_Cagney_voice] It's the Government, see? They know trailers drive down property values, see? So the National Weather Service turns on it's "Tornado Maker"TM every once in a while to clear some land, see? [/James_Cagney_voice]
-Nathan the Newbie

 

[Janna S]

A long time ago I remember hearing a theory about trailer parks and tornadoes: trailer parks are frequently built on the outskirts of cities, and the heat generated from the core area of the city has some kind of a thermal/heat effect that causes tornadoes or winds to veer toward the outskirts. I have no idea if it was accurate, but it seemed logical.

 

[Scott Dautel]

It's quite simple actually ... There is a direct correlation between the amount of debris scattered about about and the appearance of TV News cameras. Even small tornadoes can literally blow apart dozens of trailers per acre compared to brick houses, where they might just topple a few trees & tear off some shingles.
What gets me is when the news says "we MAY have had a tornado touch down" ... then they show a straigt line of downed trees and uprooted mailboxes. What do you mean ... MAYBE, it's not rocket science.
Scott

 

[Jay H]

What gets me is when the news says "we MAY have had a tornado touch down" ... then they show a
straigt line of downed trees and uprooted mailboxes. What do you mean ... MAYBE, it's not rocket
science.

there has to be a certain kind of windspeed for it to be "officially" deemed a tornado, so perhaps the news are just being picky and technical. The weather service has a responsibility to check the actual damage to see if it's really a tornado or just high winds spinning in an axis...
Jay
------------------
HUGBEES! Link Removed
Rider in the 2001 Alaska AIDS Vaccine Ride
Wanna Link Removed

 

[Wayne Murphy]

Aluminum is magnetic. The friction of wind swirling about with dust in it causes a charge that reaches for 353 miles in each direction. There is always a trailer park within this critical magnetic field. This is also the reason that tornados don't just go in a straight line like normal wind. They often are pulled between competeing trailer parks. The one that it hits usually will have more empty beer cans laying around causing and extra influx of magnetic pull.
I have a Major in B.S. so I know what I'm talking about.....just ask Steve C. He'll tell you.

[Edited last by Wayne Murphy on September 27, 2001 at 11:53 AM]

 

[andrew markworthy]

It's so that Brits can watch pictures of the aftermath [practically all US natural disasters are reported on our TV news] and comfort ourselves with the thought that although we pay more for gas, cars, DVDs, food, and indeed anything else either essential or enjoyable *and* get paid lower salaries, at least our houses stay upright when it's windy.

 

[Larry Schneider]

Trailer park residents invariably thank God when their trailer is spared; if so, God must be responsible for the ones that are destroyed. He's up there with a joystick, playing tornado video games.

 

[Derrik Draven]

Wayne - you may be joking but, believe it or not, I read a scientific study that was thinking damn near what you said, to be true!
Something about all the close proximitiy of trailers and the metal structures causing some sort of electo-magnetic field that "could" possibly effect severe weather.
Hell...sounds good anyway!

------------------
"...better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it". - Slater, True Romance

 

[Wayne Murphy]

I told you I'm brilliant. If you can't dazzle them with your brilliance baffle them with your bullsh*t.

 

[Steven K]

2 Words: Natural Selection

 

[Chris Derby]

Gene pool cleaning...

------------------
-derby