As a tornado swept through St. Louis last Friday, traffic stood still on Interstate 170 near Berkeley after several drivers parked underneath an overpass — trapping other drivers behind them.
“That creates a very dangerous situation for all the drivers that are out there during that storm,” said St. Louis-based AAA spokesperson Nick Chabarria. He noted that the danger also applies to the drivers who thought they were safe parked under the overpass.
“The notion that an underpass can be a safe place to park during a storm is a complete myth. It actually has the opposite effect. That overpass can actually create a funnel for debris … and actually pick up speed while you're sitting under there. There's also the potential for structural failure of that overpass, which could cause more damage.”
On Thursday’s St. Louis on the Air, Chabarria and National Weather Service meteorologist Kevin Deitsch bust — or validate — common storm and tornado myths and warnings, including: Do tornadoes avoid cities and places with lots of concrete? And is it safe to take a shower during a thunderstorm?
Listen to the conversation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or click the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Jada Jones is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
