Building giant walls to stop tornados.

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Would you like to see n almost 1000 foot high wall on the horizon if it could stop tornados from forming and shooting across the midwest? I doubt it would ever happen, but can you imagine living in the shadows of one of these walls?

http://www.citylab.com/weather/2014/06/ ... ll/373268/

maybe they could make it into a multipurpose building? have the army corps of engineers build it?

They say there would be three of these walls. That would be quite a project. I've never seen any building that huge. If it is 1000 feet high and almost 200 feet long, how wide would it have to be to even be structurally sound? I don't know if the Army Corp of Engineers is equipped to handle a project like that. People would start saying we should be putting those walls up on our southern border. There could be a lot of unforeseen negative consequences to something like this. Hopefully they can come up with something better than this.

we are as far as can be from being a level one [kardachev scale of technological development] civilization that can control the weather. until then we will continue to whistle past the graveyard and hope for the best, inadequately prepare for the worst.

We're really not far off becoming a full K1 civ...

Though, I'd prefer building artificial mountains. Much prettier, and perhaps cheaper, since they are essentially mounds of earth. Dig out some inland seas in the process...

Totally against.

What people need to do is to take control over their own lives. If they don't have good place to go during a tornado, then build one.

The question I have is why people who live in tornado prone areas still build their houses the same way? It seems to me that walls made of reinforced concrete would make for better protection. Also those steel shutters which slide down over windows, sealing them off would be a better choice.

The person 'researching' this nonsense is merely doing it to get paid. The concept is absurd and its application an impossibility.

Even IF it was possible to build said walls for free (100% free) and in a short time it still would not be a good idea. By building those walls you are blocking critical natural processes like animal/insect movements, pollen/air circulation and blocking sunlight over very large areas. It would not stop nor reduce tornadoes either... the reason why mountains reduce tornadoes is not because of how high they are but because of how tall and wide they are...the shape of a mountain range (think : pyramid) funnels the airflow...a wall would instead create vortices after the wind impacts its side. Mountain range shape and biomass also trap and release moisture which changes the environment..a wall 1k ft tall and thousand kilometer long would not do that.

Instead of a wall they should build a mountain range itself (since we're discussing absurd construction ideas)...that would be the only thing that works.


Ideally the best solution is not to attack the problem but to attack the reason why its a problem.

1- Instead of building above ground, build below ground. Homes should have the above-ground portion be the 'expendable' area and below ground the home should have the actual bedrooms/storage/etc. Above ground portion should be built with strong materials mandatory.... like cement and steel.

2- public transport functioning below ground (subways) rather than above ground. That is, instead of bus service they should have subways..even if its a small town.

3- Tornado public refuges every other block. If McDonalds and Starbucks manage to place themselves that way, so should shelters.

4- Offices and factories would follow the similar rule to #1 of above ground vs below ground. Below ground portion should be the shelter area for above ground workers (factory jobs mainly.. for offices/retail they can be below ground too).


...or we can go gung-ho and install Patriot-battery like tornado defenses that lob (or a fighter jet delivers) a payload with an explosive big enough to break up the tornado's funnel.

3-

because its very cheap to live there and your not going to get hit by every tornado its all pretty much luck you could loose your house the year you get it 50 years later or never

I doubt building a wall to withhold a tornado will work considering that the strongest tornado an EF-5 can do MAJOR structural damages to even the most well built buildings even an high end EF-2-4 can do moderate to severe structural damages. The only thing I see a brick wall doing is creating more deadly debris

It is possible to build tornado proof,all school should be in areas that are prone to them.
http://www.mnn.com/your-home/at-home/bl ... the-ozarks

Something that can withstand wind speeds of 200+ and what about multiple vortex's? I would have to see it to believe it as EF-5's are noted for total destruction.

No one will know for sure till one takes a hit,but something has to be done for schools and hospitals.Plus common sense,I live in a tornado zone,if severe weather is predicted I don't go to the store.Why people decide to go to Wal Mart when bad weather is predicted is beyond me.

what evidence is there that we are anywhere near being able to control our weather and to prevent earthquakes [prerequisites for belonging to the K1 club]?

Attack on Cyclone

Well people can continue to pray I mean that always seams to "help" with these things....Joking aside I agree something should be done but I honestly don't see building a magical brick wall doing anything to obstruct a high grade tornado...maybe an EF-0 or a low grade EF-2