But tornadoes can easily turn or even backpedal - sometimes quite suddenly - and travel the opposite way if they're hit with the right kind of wind from a system. Remember that they're formed by thunderstorms, so they often follow the path of their 'parent' storms, which also generally move from the southwest. Just because most tornadoes move in this west-to-east formation doesn't mean that all of them do.

In fact, tornadoes must be routinely amused by what lowly humans assume are their 'natural laws,' because they also don't fear bodies of water or mountains, and nothing 'attracts' them to trailer parks. While most tornadoes do move from southwest to northeast, that isn't some sort of law of nature. Many cities have been hit hard by tornadoes - including OKC, multiple times- and there's no reason to believe they are 'safer.'Īll this is to say that if you see a tornado, don't assume that running west is going to save you. Likewise, cities aren't often hit by tornadoes, but best you not go spouting off to people in Oklahoma City that they're safe from a twister. But don't fool yourself into thinking that the bathtub is the perfect safe haven, as 200-mile-an-hour (322-kilometer-an-hour) winds can fling them about pretty easily. Sure, some rules aren't easily broken lying low in an interior room bathroom tub, for instance, is going to be a lot safer than riding out a tornado in a mobile home. A good rule of thumb when learning about tornadoes: There's no such thing as always.

Do meteors always go east to west