Misconceptions That Kill #7: Do Tornadoes Cross Rivers?

It's time to write about another common misconception that can literally kill you.  There are many myths regarding tornadoes and many of these myths can lead to needless deaths.  Today I want to specifically focus on the misconception that tornadoes cannot cross rivers.  Often this misconception is modified to state that a river's shape or bend can prevent tornadoes from crossing.  Wrong.  Wrong.  Wrong.  Wrong.  A thousand times wrong.  A tornado doesn't give a crap about a river.  In fact, tornadoes can form over a body of water!

Tornado on a lake.

There's this common myth where I live that the local river stops tornadoes and therefore we rarely (and never according to some people) get a tornado.  Well, guess what?  Earlier this year we had a tornado touch down and sweep through a residential area.  Fortunately it was a weaker tornado and no one was killed, but ignoring or misunderstanding the threat of tornadoes can be deadly.  Can tornadoes cross rivers?  Absolutely yes and to argue otherwise could result in someone's unnecessary death.