Why don't tornado's form in metropolitan areas?

Question

Or large citys?

Answer 1

They do.  One tore up a big part of the middle of Omaha some years ago.

Answer 2

because it would cost much more to re-build a city then a few trailers in kansas. i kid i kid

..i'm not a tornado expert but i'm pretty sure tornados can form anywhere but they're more likely in a place that is flat with a whole lot of land. why? ..i don't know that's just where all the tornados are. now watch tomorrow they'll be a tornado in a city!

Answer 3

They do, a major tornado just hit Atlanta.  I guess it seems as though it does not happen because it is rare.

Answer 4

They do-- during the NCAA finals they had a Tornado in downtown Atlanta. It's rare-- but it does happen. Tornado's usually occur in tornado alley, which is made up of mostly   rural areas.

Answer 5

They do but the ratio of area taken up by "metropolitan areas" and "rural areas" is small and so it seems that rural areas are hit more often for some other reason.

Also, tornadoes tend to be dissipated by friction with the buildings they destroy and urban areas have more friction per unit area so the rural tornadoes appear more dramatic. When they hit urban areas, however, they do considerable damage because of the density of residences BUT the residences aren't as flimsy as the trailer parks which get most of the press notice because they are devastated.

Answer 6

It is a myth that tornadoes cannot hit large cities. They can and they have. Salt Lake city, Miami, Atlanta, Oklahoma City, Dallas-Fort Woth and even Chicago had a rotating wall cloud that came over the city and dropped a waterspout in Lake Michigan. It is just a matter of time until a huge tornado hits a major city.

Tornado myths including about cities.

http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/seve...

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/

Answer 7

Tornados not forming in metro areas is a myth.

Tornados can form any time and anywhere provided that the correct conditions are present.

Oklahoma City has been hit numorus times in it's history

See this link http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com

Just earlier this year a rare tornado hit Vancouver, WA.

Even Portland, OR  has been hit.

See this link on Selected tornadoes which have hit some part of the central business district of a major city http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/down...

Answer 8

They do!!! We had one here last summer In Vancouver , Washington.

Answer 9

Tornadoes form where their is warm air from the Gulf of Mexico and cold air from the North or Canada. So it could be in the middle of nowhere or in a ginormous city