I finally followed the link; was interesting reading. The two that I had believed were that larger tornados were more dangeorus than small ones, and that a tornado is only dangerous when it's on the ground.

For me the most significant myth that I used to believe was that tornados don't normally happen here in the PNW. And while they are more rare than in tornado alley, according to NOAA:



It surprised me to learn this a while back, since it seems each torando is reported by the media as some strange fluke. Because we don't get torandos here, those only happen way over in tornado alley, right?

I would like to de-bunk the de-bunker. This is not generally known, so you can tell people that "you heard it here first."

In February of 1947, as the U.S. was embarking on a major investment in residential housing, a historic meeting was held between the real estate and banking lobby, and the tornado lobby. Negotiations were difficult. Threats were made. The tornadoes threatened to strike at random. The banks threatened to seed the clouds. It was ugly, but the real estate interests were pragmatic. There were buildings to be built and money to be made.

The final agreement was that, in return for free rein over trailer parks, small towns, and minor shopping centers, tornadoes would stay out of central cities and away from affluent neighborhoods of major cities. With only a few exceptions, the agreement has held. No one was ever to reveal the existence of the agreement, and that has held too. But, since the Internet is anonymous, I can reveal it. My uncle, a noted meteorologist, was in the room.

Further discussions were sought with hurricanes, but they refused to participate. "Try seeding our clouds and we will destroy every single building between Houston and Boston. As soon as you rebuild, we will do it again," their representative said. "We will do exactly as we please, and you will take it. Now get out of here, before we get mad."