Cars are deadly shelters during tornadoes

updated 8:33 p.m. ET May 12, 2008

SENECA, Mo. - Nearly half of the 21 people killed by a tornado that smashed parts of Oklahoma and Missouri over the weekend died in cars, troubling experts who say vehicles are among the worst places to be during a twister.

"It's like taking a handful of Matchbox cars and rolling them across the kitchen floor," said Sgt. Dan Bracker of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, surveying the damage in Newton County near the Oklahoma line, the hardest hit area. "This is devastating."

Among those killed were a woman who took shelter in a broken-down car outside someone's home; three people who were rushing to reach a relative's house in their car; and four family members — Rick Rountree, his wife, his 13-year-old son, and his mother-in-law — who were in a van on the way to a friend's wedding when the twister, packing winds of 170 mph, struck the Seneca area on Saturday night.

"They were on the road when the warnings came," said Rountree's brother-in-law, Larry Bilke.

Worst death toll in a decade
About 100 people have died in U.S. twisters so far this year, the worst toll in a decade, according to the National Weather Service, and the season isn't over yet. Tornado season typically peaks in the spring and early summer, then again in the late fall.

This could also prove to be the busiest tornado season on record in the United States, though the final figure on the number of twisters is not yet in.

All together, at least 24 people died in Missouri, Oklahoma, Georgia and Alabama after the severe storms erupted Saturday over the Southern Plains and swept east.

According to data from the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center, 49 of the 705 deaths — or about 7 percent — attributed to tornadoes from 1997 to 2007 were people who were in vehicles when the storm struck.

Video   Family's pet llama survives May 12: Deadly tornadoes spared one Missouri family, despite destroying their home. NBC's Don Teague reports. Nightly News

"They can cover more ground than you can in your car, so unless you know you are moving away from the tornado the best thing you can do is find a strong structure," said National Weather Service meteorologist Andy Foster.

The twister that struck Newton County was covering ground at 50 mph to 60 mph, Foster said. One car was found a half-mile from the tornado track.

Authorities were still piecing together how some of the other victims died over the weekend. But the Missouri Highway Patrol said at least two other car passengers were killed when their vehicle was thrown from the same road where the Rountree family was killed.

Another woman died in Missouri after she took shelter in a broken-down car outside Susan Roberts' home in Seneca. "That is what is tearing me up," Roberts said, adding she had warned the woman about the approaching tornado.

Car deaths in Oklahoma
In Picher, Okla., 32 miles away, a man and a woman died when their car was blown into a lagoon. The body of another man from the car wound up in a tree nearby. A 13-year-old girl who was riding in the car was injured.

MORE FROM WEATHER

Weather Section Front

El Nino has two personalities, study finds Baaad news: Shrinking sheep tied to warming Study: Tropical rain band shifting north 2 police dogs die in British heat wave   3-day forecast across U.S. Tampa sees record downpour Volcano’s eruptions create colorful sunsets Nepal landslides bury homes, killing 9 2,000 cattle die in heat wave Weather Section Front   Add Weather headlines to your news reader: