Should You Open Windows During a Hurricane? | MythBusters

Adam and Jamie construct a model home and place it into a wind tunnel. The results may help secure your home in high winds.
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[@Tecorsuh]

This clip was only the first half of this particular myth. In the second half they put a to-code mini house in front of a large wind machine, and they discovered that the effects of wind in open vs. closed windows was negligible. They also added in water and flying debris and came to the conclusion that it's better to close and shutter your window due to the water damage you would suffer during a hurricane. Also, it was said later in the episode that the size of the windows in the scale model were that large to exaggerate any effect that might happen. It's extremely misleading to show only the results of the small scale without the final conclusions of the myth. Especially with the note this video ends on of a "myth confirmed" vibe instead of the busted conclusion they ultimately reached.

[@52flyingbicycles]

Tecorsuh this should be the top comment; the first dozen point out the limitations of just this particular experiment.

[@SherrifOfNottingham]

"Science Channel" I get that the point of this clip is to advertise the show and get you to go watch the show to see the entire myth, but it's misleading time to stop watching the myth. It's deception.

[@FireJamUSA]

Thanks for pointing out about the water and debris. Hopefully those who would actually consider exposing themselves to the elements during a hurricane after seeing this partial video will reconsider after reading your post. This video is dangerously misleading for anyone inexperienced in dealing with hurricanes. They could be in real trouble if this video was the only data that they had to work with..

[@Nerdnotwashere]

+

[@englishmuffinpizzas]

Totally agree... It's completely backwards to the point of the show to include out of context clips that are completely misleading

[@ebcrew]

Yeah if your house is a perfect square with a 1 equal size window on each side

[@richardphan3644]

ebcrew with no walls inside as well. This test is not realistic😂

[@AG.Floats]

Haha not their best.

[@Crow653]

Like others have pointed out, this is an out of context from the beginning of the episode, they went on to decide on it being busted...

[@lurkkilukki7877]

And without anyhting inside

[@whocares397]

@Obsidian Rose only idiots would trust somthing on youtube and no 1 cares about idiots lol so they can die

[@erikolsen1333]

Well there’s rain and, Also those windows are not proportional to the house who has windows that take up 65% of the S.A of the house

[@holliburns1823]

erik olsen ..hi Eric! What do you mean? Lil confused about your message & abbreviation s? 😎🦅🐺🐾🐾💙✔️✔️✔️

[@moves3297]

TangoCrunch if that was the case it would be obvious of course something with holes in it has less air pressure against it in a wind storm the title of the video is something like does your house take less damage with the windows open in a hurricane and that would mean this had to do with a house in a hurricane and with that being said during a hurricane there is copious amounts of rain the wind changes directions all the time and there is flying debris if you leave your windows open you will ruin all of the contents of your home due to the fact there will be a minimum of 4 inch of water on the entire first floor of your house another thing about this that is ridiculous is that hurricanes don't have that much wind Force 160 miles per hour 180 at the most compared to a tornado and the 250 to 300 tornadoes do structural damage to any home hurricanes only damage homes that are not built to 1980 standards and it home built after the 2000s along the coast of America all are going to have extremely high hurricane tolerances last year my house built in 2005 went through Irma Category 3 to hit directly on Fort Myers where I live I only lost one piece of lattice not a single shingle came off my roof gust of 145 miles per hour this is ridiculous this proves nothing

[@holliburns1823]

erik olsen ...what's SA of house n windows open..don't worry about material things! Just save yourself & fam., Pets, however keep safe.. wear lifevests and shield your self somewhere safe. Period! Hurricanes depending your location are pretty darn destructive sometimes! Any suggestions about tornados? Just curious! X..🐺🐾🐾🦅💜💛💚🙏✔️

[@holliburns1823]

I feel it's genuine!

[@holliburns1823]

ssjpacman ....lol 💚🐺🐾🐾

[@NOLAMarathon2010]

Note in Jamie and Adam's test house, the wind can flow through the house unobstructed. But houses will always have interior partitions which will interrupt the flow of the wind. In fairness, I don't think their test house models reality all that well.

[@krzysztofczarnecki8238]

There is still a lot of stuff inside the test house, as those cylinders are really fat, but they definitely should have added at least one wall across the whole thing, with openable door. This model simulates a house with all of the internal doors open, so probably the worst thing to do would be opening the windows and closing all the room doors, as that would give the baloon effect as well as let in the rain and more debris from the hurricane destroying things outside.

[@dang.9125]

The biggest problem with the test is the roof most roofs aren’t like that and are pointed. This caused a difference in pressure and will literally rip the roof off the house

[@chaotixthefox]

This is only half of the test. In the next half they busted the myth.

[@lapiswolf2780]

The second half of the test used a to-code House,this is only the first half

[@mmisshannah]

There's a reason we have hurricane shutters on houses at the OBX. The houses that left windows open or had their windows broken were basically destroyed because the winds traveled through the house and created furniture projectiles or pushed the roof up/walls out (not to mention all the ocean spray and sand that made their way in). I dunno anything about tornadoes in this scenario, but it's much better to keep them closed during hurricanes.

[@hpfxd]

No, open Linux during a hurricane instead.

[@ldawg8497]

Was looking for this. Thank you.

[@matrixphijr]

Will DOS work?

[@thespiffingamerican]

What distro?

[@MikhaelAhava]

Ha!

[@GlueC]

Pfff, Linux is already open.

[@AnakinSkyobiliviator]

Except that houses aren't one-room structures with no interior walls.

[@Ivan2294]

Yeah which they cover in the actual episode ya dingus

[@carlwheezer2766]

Some houses are if your really poor

[@eethanni]

one word, _AFRICA

[@youcansave15ormoreoncarins75]

@@eethanni More like China

[@nanobot423]

@@youcansave15ormoreoncarins75 the houses are usually connected in china so the windows dont go through

[@NOLAMarathon2010]

In hurricanes, the rain travels horizontally. So, here's the tradeoff. A house built to a modern code in South Louisiana can probably withstand 100 mph winds with minor amounts of damage. (My house, built in the mid-70's, required roof replacement after hurricane Katrina.) If you leave all your windows open, you will likely have to replace 100% of your carpet, and 80% of your furniture. My plan going forward is the same as my plan to date: keep my windows shut.

[@TechSupportDave]

You're right. Having everything inside destroyed is just as bad as having part of your house destroyed. Might as well keep everything shut and the inside protected.

[@kingkota2302]

Here's a tip avoid the coast.

[@spaghettigum]

imagine having full room carpet ☠

[@bubblebaath7840]

Yea but nothing inside will stay intact

[@lucasbaar4443]

Bubble Baath yep

[@nickwilliams6621]

Apparently opening the windows helps balance out the air pressure too. 'Windows open' works in 'Straya by the way, especially when having cyclone parties ;)

[@paulanomoly7977]

All I know is what I actually did through 2 hurricanes, Charlie and Irma. I boarded up the windward side of the house and open the opposite side of the house. Both times we made it through without a single scratch on the house, no damage at all. The eye of Irma passed right over my house. I went outside to stand in the eye. It was really strange. These were 2 different homes in 2 different locations.

[@shina7418]

but the one inaccurate thing, there stuff in the house the can cause more damage and possibly hurt people, your demonstation only shows the structure of the house, which is obviously end up getting good results.

[@8epic819]

"opening the windows results in less property damage" anything inside the house: adios

[@blanchbacker]

The narrator brings back so many memories :( rip Mythbusters

[@James-ls8qz]

I love the voice-over. So relaxing and nostalgic!

[@mangeshburange6471]

It would also depend on the cross-sectional opening for the window provided + the orientation "you might not have a smooth ventilated house,there are always partition walls blocking the winds"

[@kevinsamuel8344]

As a hurricane maria survivor i can say, this would be horrible to do in a real hurricane 😂

[@simonstylites8316]

I live in a place where we battle an average of 20 hurricanes a year. For thousands of years, our traditional architectures developed 2 ways to adapt. One uses light materials with windows that allow wind to pass through. Our windows are so big, perhaps bigger in surface area ratio. Its so true. The other uses heavy materials that looks more like a hole dug on the ground. I mean we have earth for roofs that merge with the landscape.

[@drrice1123]

The rain? Dirt? Palm trees?! Where are all the real hurricane conditions. It’s not a hurricane unless you have at least 6 palm trees flying around.

[@gardenjoy5223]

Love your comment Dr Rice! Will never forget to count the flying palm trees from now on.

[@Void-ng8jz]

That's amazing! But all homes are different such as the layout, structure, etc. Especially the position on where your home could facing with the wind, it could blow anywhere, the wind could blow on the front of your home, the back, the sides, or maybe the corner of your home? Plus any furniture would start flying and be soaking wet.

[@TriumVee]

I advised this in 2012 and I only lost my siding during 85mph wind. Other homes were mildly damaged

[@pyromaniac000000]

The basis of the test is not about your possessions, or the carpet, wallpaper, paint, any of it. The test is strictly about structural damage, and in theory having all windows open would definitely lead to less structural damage. The thing about high wind, is that the damage is due to high force over a relatively small surface area. A flat wall will experience far more force than one with an opening. Any drop in surface are means a drop in force applied to that wall. So by opening all the windows, theoretically your house could be the only one left standing in a sea of rubble. Your possessions may take damage, and the repair costs will be incredible, but you don’t have to buy an entirely new home, as well as all new possessions.

[@dang.9125]

You forget about the roof. It will create an airfoil (like a plane wing) and the roof will be torn off the house.

[@pyromaniac000000]

Daniel Gonzalez i don’t think you entirely know what you are talking about. “Airfoil effect” is not “like an airplane wing” that is exactly what the airfoil effect is, and only applies to plane wings, unless you think the average house is perfectly shaped and designed to affect wind in such a way as to create lift. Which they are not, in case you don’t realize.

[@dang.9125]

pyromaniac000000 the way a airfoil works is through the Bernoulli principle we’re if you have air faster it creates low pressure. Hence the shape of a airplane wing is curved to speed up air on the top of the wing (think about a hose if you squeeze the top the water comes out faster) . Similarly on a house the roof will cause the air outside to move faster vs inside creating pressure difference and essentially creating lift.

[@pyromaniac000000]

Daniel Gonzalez first of all *an airfoil, secondly thank you for better explaining yourself. But it still isnt entirely correct, pressure difference would not magically equal lift, for lift to occur it also has to be shaped in a way as to create that lift, which a house is not. If everything was as you say, a vacuum chamber would magically levitate into the sky. And besides, in a storm like that, your house will probably be in the sky anyway. In the sky in a million tiny pieces.

[@dang.9125]

a box wouldn't magically fly into the sky because the lower pressure is on the inside which means the pressure would be placed on the outside in so it would be crushed unless you have a strong enough box to hold the vacuum and if you had it vise versa the pressure would be put on the inside going out and it would explode like the pressurized tank of air in Jaws. The thing here is a box is not equivalent to an airfoil. Second you miss my point that the shape of a roof on a house is like a airfoil. Flat on the bottom rounded on the top. It doesn't have to be perfectly like a real life airfoil to create lift. Airplane airfoils are the most efficient design for lift, that doesn't mean a house roof wont generate lift.

[@kennethblocher6110]

I always thought it went that you should leave the windward side windows open an inch or so, while trailing windows were fully open. This minimized internal air pressure, decreasing the chance of the roof being lifted.

[@seanlander9321]

Opening your windows is standard operating procedure during a hurricane in the tropical north of Australia.

[@homer1075]

Can't wait to test this on the next rain-less hurricane.

[@turn4turn595]

I feel like the windows are not scaled properly to the size of the house. Also houses have an attic that have their own openings and interior rooms and walls that obstruct the free flow of the wind.

[@lonelyshadow4059]

Interior walls and rooms though, it will block the wind from going out the other windows.

[@Psiberzerker]

That rig is so damned elegant!

[@planktonfun1]

since were measuring wind resistance, the shape of the house is also a factor to consider

[@luisrangel4608]

They forget that houses have alot home products that aren't screwed to the walls or floors that the wind can carry and destroy and possibly kill someone

[@getnmyoven69]

I read the title asking myself why you wouldn’t be able to open Windows on your computer during a hurricane

[@youdie309]

I guess they need something to do but its really quite simple. The more surface area the wind hits then the more total force there will be. You could tell how much difference in force there would be by simply subtracting the surface area of the windows from the surface area of the wall surface. But this is only if the walls are perpendicular to the prevailing winds. If the wind is hitting the house at an angle to the walls, depending on the angle and width of the windows, there may be very little difference at all in force on the wall when the widows are open or shut.

[@holliburns1823]

Observer ..ty so much! Wasn't getting any answers from Erik .....😉🐺🐾🐾💙

[@youdie309]

You are most welcome Holli

[@johnathanruiz-pineda9610]

I believe it hat if you are in the house and the pressure of the hurricane goes through the house, and you are in it, I could assume that one would be hurt in this scenario. Though it may preserve structural integrity, anyone inside could potentially be hurt.

[@thisismerica5721]

I live in Florida, had my front door open for Irma and was outside the entire time.

[@lavaismyname]

This fits perfectly with my house.

[@wurzeleule]

in this experiment the windows are alligned perfectli, wihtout any barriers (like room walls) would it be the same result if it would be a real house?

[@dragoonduneman4161]

this gives me an idea why not have attic space or Walls to be built wider to have Tubes that runs through the house and have an add on to the outside of the house that act like a funnel to move the wind into the tube and let it flow freely out so that as the wind hit the funnel it get move toward rather then pushing. and as a bonus you could install Fan blade in these tubes to generate power for you house during a hurricane storm so that you could have some power powering key things like an outlet for charging a phone or having lights to be one or a way or just plan ass storing massive ammount of power in batteries.

[@verdisensatria1605]

Only if you live inside a perfect squared capsule without any furniture like that

[@dem0_o14]

Finally this channel is alive

[@Hirobian]

That is assuming your house even has windows on all sides of its structure. In which case, it may be potentially better to keep the windows closed regardless, depending on the situation. That and you have to consider water damage as well. Still, water damage, if dealt with relatively soon after it happened is still better than no house at all.

[@fhuber7507]

Wind tunnel does not replicate the reason behind people recommending opening windows... The purpose is to allow air pressure in the house to equalize with pressure outside more rapidly, since you get rapid air pressure change as the hurricane passes. As the low pressure system passes, the fear is that the house will pop like a balloon that has been overinflated. But that pressure change is still slow enough that even the best sealed houses would be unlikely to have measurable difference in pressure from inside to outside and the house can withstand a few pounds of difference.

[@dominikdworak130]

"open windows during hurricane" good luck cleaning your stuff in house XD everything will fly

[@shadowdrift5574]

Why don't their just build the homes out of concrete and/or steel to survive the twisters?

[@candyazz28]

or do like the Native Americans did in those areas and build them in underground mounds. Native Americans always built houses according to the elements. Places with flooding had stilts like in the Mississippi delta. Places known for high amount of tornado's were built in underground mounds. Adobe was for the southwest deserts, and in Florida the Native Americans never built houses near the coast/beach areas. The European settlers come in and do what they want and they suffer their fate for not thinking of mother natures wrath first.

[@leosmi1]

COSTS $$$$

[@TheGamerAdventurersX]

High cost

[@Meg_A_Byte]

Leandro de Oliveira if it's costly to build why all European countries even the poorest ones build them?

[@moot5223]

Meg.A. Byte Here in England in Europe all houses are brick.

[@BankSlayer-eu9hs]

Thanks!

[@thomas.leitner]

Lesson learned: Just remove all walls, to remove pressure on the walls :-D

[@heyjude5027]

No house, no pressure😅

[@psychxx7146]

In my head it sounds like I should, but i'll get a whole lot of cleaning afterwards

[@madeleinebaier5347]

I love the MythBusters(I'd go out with the bald guy in the white shirt anytime). One of my favorite episodes is the Explodibg Water Tank!

[@mentra1]

That's when you're supposed to move to a actual hurricane test on a scale model of a house built to code

[@g_rbz87]

Less structural damage, but more internal damage due to wind throwing stuff off shelves and all other things you can imagine.

[@BrewPub]

Not a test that can accurately replicate the hurricane conditions, for a number of reasons: - Windows are way oversized relative to the sides of the house - typical houses aren't a square or rectangle, they have a lot of protrusions , and irregular in shape. Wind would meet resistance and when trying to blow past the house. - The wind in the test appears to be hitting the sides head-on, which is usually not the case in life. Wind would hit a house from an angle. - All the interior walls and furniture inside a home would offer a lot of resistance to wind trying to pass through an open window

[@Imkaje]

Totally backwards from a tornado where opening windows gives the tornado a better grasp to rip your house off the ground

[@Nike-Jordan]

The house I live in isn't shaped like a box with a window on each wall

[@TagzAlmighty]

science! but also the purpose of closing everything is to protect everything inside the house so more or less you'd probably prioritize keeping yourself and everything inside safe vs keeping the structure safe (which is important too so you need to check the structural integrity regularly).

[@witchhunter7652]

this wouldnt work in a life size house because the ratio that a window would cover is a lot less, so the wind would grip to the house walls instead of finding the path to the window

[@dang.9125]

Witch Hunter this wouldn’t work because the roof would create a airfoil and rip off the roof

[@anonymousjr1140]

So you're telling me to buy 60 ft of aluminum stovepipe, run it through my living room, and build a big vortex funnel on the windward side? :thinking:

[@Adam-senpai]

What about furniture and other walls and doors blocking the windflow if your siting there with all your Windows open furniture may come flying at your face

[@Optimalgeoduck]

Lol 😂 I thought you were talking about the laptop 🤦‍♂️

[@holliburns1823]

Agree Princess..good job! 💚

[@Hircine101]

Why not color code the tubes to match the walls?

[@PkSage89]

then also not sure if letting wind blow "clean through the inside of the house" preserves things inside of it.

[@RoadTripRuss]

The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety recommends that you close all interior doors and all windows for major wind storms including hurricanes. That's because wind that enters a home through open windows creates strong upward pressure on the home's roof.

[@monneratrj]

Less stress in the house structure, more stress into the objects INSIDE the house lol

[@avsaucyboi9733]

All I have to do is turn on my PC, why do we need an episode?

[@kysputnikable]

I stay in a burrow so no problem for me

[@itzamia]

It would make sense for the air to flow freely throughout the house and not cause the house to balloon up. On the flip side, all that wind and rain water is now saturating the whole house, which will destroy pretty much everything, then the black mold starts to form.

[@TwinShards]

Well, the only place where i can see this is worth " opening" Window/Door is an underground parking. (Taking in consideration that the drain can take all the water that enter the parking). This would help the foundation of the structure survive better has some of the rain/air would go bellow the above structure instead of striking it.

[@davidsaric9598]

What about the inside of the house? And when there is hurricane, there is usually rain too

[@holliburns1823]

Thanks observer...got it! 💜😇

[@deltor1286]

U forgot about interior walls with (from my calculations) would act as the window closed

[@webstertoh]

Well, there goes my sofa....

[@pati1713]

That might cause less damage on the house but what about the inside of the property, anything not tied down would be trashed also most houses are not allied to let the air out in such a way.

[@HaroWorld1]

the problem with this is test that theres a friggin window right behind the windward window. Thats not how most houses are designed. There usually isn't a window behind the windward house that the wind can just go through

[@potaterjim]

To quote a comedian: "It's not _that_ the wind is blowing, it's _what_ the wind is blowing."

[@skrubzy7035]

Okay yeah but...do the walls hinge from inside - out?

[@SeverTugay]

I miss this show

[@jelleh1462]

the windows are large relative to the house and realistically it would still make more sense to leave them to shut in high wind could let water and lots of other things into the house

[@01234slayer43210]

Me: there's a hurricane, should i open my window? Hurricane: sit back let me do it for you. . . . ooops too much

[@ayushgupta7937]

Wouldn't the size of window come in account too? The ratio of windows to wall looks way off (windows too big) as compared to actual house

[@Colonel_dinggus]

What about any objects or more importantly any occupants inside

[@Orthagoni]

what about all the stuff in your house that gets blown out?

[@kmmjcx]

The destruction due to the wind is increased if the building has an opening, If the opening is at the front, then the pressure within the building is increased and this intensifies the external suction on the back, side walls, and the roof. If the opening is on a side wall, then the opposite effect occurs. Air will be sucked out of the building, lowering its inside pressure, and intensifying the pressure acting externally on the front of the building. -RC Hibbeler's Structural Analysis, 9th Ed. And please just close your windows unless you all want to get soaked in rainwater inside your cozy homes.

[@nix_finity4848]

Well, that house DOESN'T HAVE FOOD AT THE KITCHEN TABLE IN THE MEDDLE OF HURRICANE!

[@wuznab5109]

If only my windows where that big.

[@lkthomashk]

Anyone notice "US Navy Project" on the board?

[@coguepard2]

Anyone can elaborate on Reynolds number and dimensionless calculus here?

[@briankeenan1340]

Does this experiment account for the low pressure of the weather system?

[@allengee]

Good way to turn your house into a swimming pool. At least here in Florida, Hurricanes bring massive massive amounts of torrential rains.

[@rayrowley4013]

what about just the front and back windows?

[@donbelande4152]

This is common knowledge in wind design loads for buildings in structural engineering

[@AjsBassAndGuitar]

The furniture would just get ragdolled around...

[@fredmartini8137]

Awesome vid but surely all the stuff in your house would fly out

[@hurbrowns5397]

But the problem is THAT'S NOT A HOUSE. That's a shed you build in your back garden .

[@Inkling777]

It's not the stress on my walls that bothers me. It's what a 100 mph wind blowing through my house will do to my interior. I'll take my chances with the walls to avoid that.

[@mattmccaff1]

I want to know the effect it has on the things in the house🤷🏻‍♂️

[@Idkmanihatethis]

The rain though

[@Grim1873]

The conclusion that is for houses that are tiny, made out of metal, and have giant windows. For a standard wood built home It is likely the stresses around the opening would be so great that it would break the wall apart, keeping the windows open would probably increase the likelihood of the house being torn apart. Regardless, because of the rain and debris in a hurricane, leaving your windows open is a bad idea.

[@johnuferbach9166]

Grim187 its weird to hear someone talking about a "standard wood build home" xD

[@hansyolo8277]

But there's rain and debris too. Also, the windows on that test box are massive in ratio to the walls, not to mention how it is when compared to a real house. Also most houses aren't a perfect square box. Most have rooms with windows on only one wall, and no other opening in the room except for a door to the rest of the house, which isn't in a straight line across from the window. Mine for example has one room on the second story, with walls on only one side, and a door leading to the stairs to the first floor on the wall perpendicular to it. and two rooms on the first floor with the same window and door layout. Opening my windows during a hurricane would do more damage. Especially since houses here HAVE to be build structurally sound enough to handle hurricane force winds, so that isn't an issue, whereas water is.

[@maxthreshold]

watching this before a super typhoon (200 km/h - 124.274 mph ) hits our home in 12hrs...

[@berzerkbankie1342]

As every single thing in your house flies out those windows...

[@ArtisanVision]

The cameraman has his arm broken...but keeps on working.