43 Forces other than damaging winds are also at work inside tornadoes Sometimes | Course Hero

if a bomb had gone off inside. This explosion is caused by the low air pressure at the

centre of the tornado.

The pressure at the centre of a tornado is usually 13 pounds per square inch. However,

inside the house, the air pressure is normal, about 15 pounds per square inch. The

difference of 2 pounds per square inch between the inside and outside pressure may

not seem like much. But suppose a tornado funnel passes over a small building that

measures 20 by 10 my feet. On each square inch of the building, there are 2 pounds of

pressure from the inside that is not balanced by air pressure outside the building. On

the ceiling, that adds up to an unbalanced pressure of 57, 600 pounds. The pressure on

the four walls adds up to 172,800 pounds.

If windows are open in the building, some of the inside air will rush out through them.

This will balance the pressure inside and outside the building. But if the windows are

shut tightly, the enormous inside pressure may cause the building to burst.

Unfortunately, heavy rain and hail often occur in thunderstorms that later produce

tornadoes. So people frequently shut all windows to protect theirs properly. This may

cause far worse damage later. For the same reason, tornado cellars must have an air

vent. Otherwise, the cellar door might be blown out when a tornado passes over it.

Which of the following statements can be supported by the information given in the

passage?