Don’t Do This!

This photo was taken on Monday April 11th, 2106 in north Texas as a supercell storm moved across the region.

I warn specifically not to do this in my weather talks. The reason, if a tornado is barreling down, you just clogged up the roadway for whatever reason thereby sentencing everyone behind you to their imminent death by blocking their escape route. This also prevents first responders, emergency vehicles, fire, police, ambulances, etc from getting through to help or save others. Do you want their death on your conscious? Also keep in mind if visibility is near zero, large semi-trucks may just plow through all of those parked vehicles causing an even bigger problem.
Furthermore if you are seeking shelter under an overpass from a tornado, you will likely die by getting swept away due to physics of how the wind is channeled under it.
I understand people were hiding from giant hail. I get that. However, did you know that supercell storms with hail that large typically proceed a tornado? So unless you are clairvoyant, you won’t know what’s coming your way. So what do you do?
Use a smart phone weather app to always have situational awareness during severe weather. This way you can stay out of the hail in the first place and make smart decisions that won’t harm others. Pick an app like mine, ATsWeatherToGo, that alerts you to dangerous storms well before they arrive to give you plenty of time to seek shelter. This includes while traveling on the roadway.
If you want to park under an overpass for hail, that’s fine, as long as you don’t block the highway. But just make sure it’s hail your are hiding from and not something far worse. Be safe out there and be thoughtful of others!