Racer's Lounge - Can you outrun a Tornado in your car?

Mods, if this is in the wrong forum please move it. :judge:

This question was in one of my tests today as a joke by my teacher Glenn but it still counted, Now the rest of the class said no but yours truly said yes I could outrun a Tornado in my car with drag radials and a 200 shot. :drive:
And he marked it wrong while gathering other students embarrassing me.

I got in a debate with Glenn saying that the LS1 is about a 170 mph top speed car, so with DR and 200 shot I could outrun a tornado more often than not. Glenn was saying that a tornado could go 200+ mph blah blah blah.

The way I interpetted the question was if a Tornado was right behind me and I just got in my car could I lose it. So I was thinking yah I could with DR and a 200 shot. Glenn was saying that the Tornado would chase me and eventually I'll run out of gas 300 miles later and some other BS, don't get me wrong I like Glenn but this is over the line. :engarde:

Well, i would say you could. He under-estimates the power of the LS1 lol. I mean i don't see why you can't, he said "it could" go 200mph even if it was at 100mph you can still out run it. Besides what tornado is going to specifically chase you till you run out of gas.

In a real life situation you'd lose. The fact that there is no way for him to prove himself right or to prove you wrong I don't see how he could mark it wrong. It's a hypothetical question. Therefore your answer would be right. Could you beat it? Possibly. Would you beat it? Probably not. But there is a chance, which means your answer, in my eyes, is correct. Stranger things have happened but I learned a long time ago that arguing with a teacher even if you are right is a losing battle.

Maybe he marked it wrong cause he's driving a Pirus with a "Tornado" in his intake - and it didn't work. :jest:

Once tornadoes touch down, they only move at 50mph or so. The problem is that they "lift off" again and move much quicker than your car can and they don't follow roads. Tornadoes are very erratic. There's no way to predict where it would touch back down again...could be on top of you.

The bottom line IMO is that you absolutely can outrun a tornado.

Serious lounge material...

I was basing my answer by what I saw in the movie Twister and other Tornado moviies.

Glenn drives a Camry. But I think he planted the question there specifically for me. He over hears me talking about my LS1 and heard how I raced my buddy Alex's 05 RSX twice......and won.

The way I pictured it in my head was I see the Torando about to form and I get in my car and blast off. I told Glenn that with DR and a 200 shot I could probably reach the 170+ in about 30 seconds or less while the Tornado is playing catch up. Then again I dont know much about Tornados and only what I see in the movies :)

This may be the funniest topic ive ever read on ls1tech haha. i wish one of my teachers would get in this argument with me id just have to take them outside and let him feel the power of the ls1 :devil:

being a skywarn spotter for the NWS... this is an especially exciting topic for me (tornados at least).
I guess the physical sense of the tornado you probably COULD outrun. They don't always move in straight ways, nor do they only come in singles (sisters, funnels compared to actual tornado). Could you outrun the debris that the tornado would be carrying? Probably not, depending on the debris, the scale of the tornado and the speed at which the front was moving. You see a wall cloud or shelf cloud, best bets are that most of the ingredients for a severe thunderstorm are already present... only waiting for the rotation at that point :)

Tornado's aren't really described for their speed, but the rate at which the front moves and the current temperature of the area makes a difference for rate of turn for the tornado, hail possibilities, etc. The tornado probably wouldn't 'hold you back' from speeding off, but getting too close and depending on the F of it, would depend on if you became debris yourself.

<-- {{would someday LOVE to be a storm chaser!}}

ya but tornados dont have fog lights, intermittent wipers, ttops, or rear wheel drive. So, even if youre not faster, youre still better. And you can take that to the bank! :fluffy:

I should of grabbed the paper he drew on to show everyone my stupidity. I said my answer is that I'm on Floridas turnpike I-75, sometime in the afternoon, no other cars on the road. And the Tornado is just starting up behind me.

The question was " Could you outrun a tornado in your car? " That's it, when we got into the debate he added so much more but the ones I remember the most were that it'll follow me and I'll run out of gas 300 miles later.

Your teacher is a dumbass. Funny topic. I say you could easily outrun a tornado but not sure about the debris.

I've studied meteorology, specifically tornadic thunderstorms since I was a little kid. Dont have a degree or anything, so I am just an amateur by definition. However, under the assumption that you could accurately plot the course of a tornado, and also under the assumption that it remains on the ground, you could CERTAINLY outrun it. No question about it. It's highly unlikely that you could chart its course accurately though, since they are so finicky. But, again, under the assumption that you did know what it would do with 100% accuracy, you could definetely outrun it.

Brad

EDIT: You have inspired my next sig. Thanks!

The way I interpetted the question was if a Tornado was right behind me and I just got in my car could I lose it. So I was thinking yah I could with DR and a 200 shot. Glenn was saying that the Tornado would chase me and eventually I'll run out of gas 300 miles later and some other BS, don't get me wrong I like Glenn but this is over the line. :engarde:


with a DR and a 200 shot, you'll be smoking your tires as the tornado rips you apart...

Leave that 200 shot on for an extended period of time and you'll be stuck on the side of the road waiting for the tornado to catch up to you :P

If you're driving an A4... not long after entering overdrive at WOT on a 200 shot of spray you'll be losing 4th gear



The correct answer to your teachers question should be "not enough information" ... since he gievs no details on the speed of the tornado, how quickly it accelerates once lifting up again, etc... there's no way you can say that you can outrun it... simply don't have enough information to make an informed answer

i think this debate has gotten out of hand...lol...funny one though

From what i've seen they don't move too fast once they touch ground.So you could probably outrun it.But I don't think your going to win an argument against a teacher even if you are right!

Yep you sure can out run a tornado. I saw a show about tornados on tv and it showed a family that outran a tornado in their car. If they had stayed in their house they would have died.

Yep you sure can out run a tornado. I saw a show about tornados on tv and it showed a family that outran a tornado in their car. If they had stayed in their house they would have died.

cool beans! That must've been fun... Although let us be clear that if you are somewhere and get hit with a warning, or see/hear it coming, getting in your car is a VERY bad idea. Remain where you are and get to the center of the building, or into a low-lying enclosed support structure.

Brad

your teacher really must be an idiot. just tell him that wind speed =/= velocity. thats like asking if you could outrun a hurricane, while they have 150+mph winds, they only travel at like 15mph. There is no way that a tornado is capable of traveling at 150mph for an extended period of time.

That shouldnt be a right or wrong topic. Maybe you could maybe you couldnt. I think your teacher is just stubberen(sp) and wont addmit that you could be right.

Storm chasers do it all time.

I've got a video somewhere of some guy on an older crotch rocket racing against one. He was running @ 170+ mph and the twister wasn't far behind but he got away.

EDIT: You have inspired my next sig. Thanks!

aww shit! now everyone's gonna be running around with pictures of their cars outrunning a tornado

I think you should just print tihs whole thing out and bring it into your teacher and prove him wrong.. if he still wants to mark your paper wrong, im tellin ya take him for a ride :devil:

Storm chasers do it all time.

I've got a video somewhere of some guy on an older crotch rocket racing against one. He was running @ 170+ mph and the twister wasn't far behind but he got away.
Post the video! :eek2:

If you post the video I'll link it to an e-mail I'll send him. And I'll take him for a ride in my car. I appreciate all the advice and answers guys thanks :drive:

The WINDS of a tornado move FAST, but the tornado itself isn't.

The fastest I've heard of a tornado moving is 80 mph, But I'm not an expert. I have studied them for a few years though.

Yes, you also gotta beat the debris. :)