Tornado's have touched down in NC today, and 9 are feared dead. The tornado struck a mobile home park. It seems like trailer parks are always being hit by tornado's. Has research ever been done to see if the material used to build trailers, actually attracts tornado's?

Yeah, I left a message for my sister, she lives in NC- not a trailer park but wanted to make sure she was ok - they have been having earthquakes in Winston Salem (yeah, really) and she gets alot of the wind storms - so I'm hoping she is ok. Trailer parks are just easy targets for storms. No basements, no foundations, just out in the open and sitting ducks.

Did you read the Bob Barker thread?

There are no such things as tornadoes, Bob Barker just hates trailer parks!

And to think I actually refrained from going there...

Some relatives moved to a rural part of PA years ago. When they were ready to retire, they sold their farm and kept a small lot for themselves (about 3-4 acres) which they put a trailer on. About 10 years ago, a small twister came through. Didn't touch any home near them in any way, but headed straight for their trailer. Luckily, they were ok, but nothing else had the slightest bit of damage but the trailer. They do seem to be tornado magnets.

I think so many trailer parks get hit because they are usually situated on flat, open pieces of land.

And, another thing to think about is that the tornado may have gone through another area of concrete, masonry or frame structures that are far superior in regards to wind resistance but the real damage is done when the tornado hits the trailers, which are of considerably weaker construction.

One word for you, from an Oklahoman: unanchored.

A tornado could pass within a few hundred feet of a house and not necessarily cause a huge amount of damage, but if it passes within a few hundred feet of a trailer park it will. Trailers are thinly built. Some are not anchored down very well, if at all. I think they always seem to "hit" mobile home parks because the wind created during a storm like that just rips places that are not well built apart.

It's just natural selection.

Easy, TICG. I use to be trailer trash back in the day and I turned out pretty d@mn good.