A person can be picked up by a tornado, though such an event is extremely rare. A tornado is defined as a violently rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground. Its power is capable of lofting objects far heavier than a human body. While the chance of being caught in the circulation is low, the meteorological potential for a person to be lifted and transported is well-established.
How Tornadoes Lift Objects
The mechanism by which a tornado lifts objects involves an interplay between two primary meteorological forces. The first is extreme wind speed, which creates immense aerodynamic drag. Rotational winds in a violent tornado can exceed 200 miles per hour, generating a force proportional to the square of the wind speed. This force alone can tear apart structures and overcome the gravitational pull on objects.
The second force contributing to lift is the significant pressure drop within the funnel’s core. Air pressure inside a strong tornado can be up to 10% lower than the air pressure immediately outside the vortex. This low-pressure environment creates a powerful upward-moving flow of air, known as the updraft, which is connected to the parent thunderstorm. While the idea that this pressure difference causes houses to “explode” is largely considered a myth, the upward lift is very real.
The combined effect of horizontal drag and vertical lift from the intense updraft enables a tornado to loft objects. Rotational winds push objects into the core, where the updraft takes over and carries the mass vertically. This dual-force system transforms common objects into airborne projectiles. The updraft can carry debris, and occasionally people, great distances before releasing them.
Documented Instances and Outcomes
The possibility of a person being picked up by a tornado is confirmed by historical accounts and documented cases of survival. These real-world events demonstrate that while being caught in a tornado’s circulation is a chaotic experience, it is not an automatic death sentence. The longest distance a person has been confirmed to be carried and survived occurred in 2006, when 19-year-old Matt Suter was picked up by an EF2 tornado in Missouri. He was reportedly thrown 1,307 feet, or approximately a quarter of a mile, before landing, and he survived with relatively minor injuries.
In his case, being rendered unconscious by a falling lamp may have reduced the tension in his body, potentially contributing to his survival during the flight. Other accounts describe people being “sucked out” of buildings as the tornado passed over, only to be slammed back to the ground a short distance away. The outcome for individuals caught in the vortex varies wildly, depending on the tornado’s intensity, the height and distance they are carried, and the surface they eventually strike.
Being lifted by a tornado is often a short-lived, violent event. The individual is subjected to extreme rotational forces and then dropped when air currents no longer support their weight or they are ejected from the circulation. The existence of survivors, even from strong tornadoes, provides evidence of the complex and unpredictable nature of the forces within the funnel.
The Primary Danger of High-Velocity Debris
While the sensational aspect of being lifted by a tornado captures the imagination, the statistically greater and far more common danger is high-velocity debris. The vast majority of tornado-related fatalities and severe injuries are caused not by the initial lifting of a person, but by blunt force trauma from flying objects. Tornadoes turn ordinary materials like lumber, sheet metal, glass, and household items into lethal missiles traveling at extreme speeds.
The severity of a tornado is measured using the Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale, which correlates estimated wind speeds with the observed damage indicators. An EF-2 tornado, for example, has wind gusts ranging from 111 to 135 mph, which is sufficient to snap large trees and cause major structural damage. These wind speeds determine the velocity at which debris is propelled. Even small objects can penetrate materials and cause catastrophic injuries when moving at such speeds.
Seeking immediate, sturdy shelter is the most effective action because it prevents exposure to this lethal debris field. Head injuries are a leading cause of death in tornadoes, underscoring the danger of impact from airborne shrapnel and collapsing structures. The focus on seeking subterranean or interior, windowless shelter mitigates the risk of being struck by deadly projectiles carried by the wind.