Professor wants 1000 ft. tornado wall built in U.S. midwest

Friday, February 28, 2014, 7:01 PM -

Physics professor Dr. Rongjia Tao has an idea he hopes will cut down on tornadoes in the Midwestern U.S.

He wants to build several giant walls, including one along the Kansas/Oklahoma border.

Findings from the federally-funded study by the Temple University prof suggest that three walls, 1,000 feet (304 metres) in length and 150 feet (45 metres) wide from east to west in tornado alley would be able to stop threatening tornadoes from forming.

But at least one colleague has his doubts.

"[Tao] talks about the idea that tornadoes form from this clash of air masses, which is an over simplification, actually," says David Mechem of the University of Kansas.

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Mechem points out that Tao's research will be presented in front of his fellow physicists and not meteorologists.

"I don't think it's an idea that will work," says one meteorologist.

"In the grand scheme of things, I think it's a gimmicky idea, I think it gets attention, but [it's a] very hard sell."