Sauropods VS The Weather

[Takama]

Since Sauropods were the largest land animals ever, how vulnerable are they to bad weather?

Can a Brachiosaurus be sucked up by a Tornado?   Or would they be knocked off balance.

Also, did such whether occur during the Mesozoic?

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

They were BIG but we're talking about BIG storms right? Standard tornadoes, flood, tidal waves, lightning, ect?

Look at large mammals caught in similar situations, many of them die. Would they be sucked up? By a large enough tornado I'd imagine so.  I don't think the largest sauropod could walk through one unscathed.

I do believe these weather phenomenon occurred all during Earth's past.

[Takama]

Thanks for that.   I seen a picture of a herd of Girafatitans running away from a couple Twisters.




This Thread also connects to another Thread i made

http://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?action=post;msg=91156;topic=3189.0

I was planning on having me and Brandems Girafatititan Running away From an Unseen Threat, that cant possibly be a Predator due to there size.   The threat in Particular is, Well lets just say i really like that picture

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I've seen some similar art to Doug's piece there as well..though i'm sure he had the original concept.

I've also seen a piece of a sauropod getting electrocuted by lightning.  They must have had some defensive strategy for that...

[Dinoguy2]

Since Sauropods were the largest land animals ever, how vulnerable are they to bad weather?

Can a Brachiosaurus be sucked up by a Tornado?   Or would they be knocked off balance.

Also, did such whether occur during the Mesozoic?

Tornadoes require very specific conditions to happen and there are only a few places in the world today where they occur regularly. I'm sure at least at some times during the Mesozoic the right conditions came together to create a prehistoric "tornado alley".

[Takama]

They were BIG but we're talking about BIG storms right? Standard tornadoes, flood, tidal waves, lightning, ect?

Look at large mammals caught in similar situations, many of them die. Would they be sucked up? By a large enough tornado I'd imagine so.  I don't think the largest sauropod could walk through one unscathed.

I do believe these weather phenomenon occurred all during Earth's past.

I can imagine a Brachiosaurus being picked up off balance and land in a Fatal position (once they fall, they cant get back up). But is it possible for a Tornado to suck them up to the top and fling them far?

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Depends on the weight, I pulled this quote online :

" Depends on the tornado and the circumstances, but I'd go with: yes, it's definitely possible. Strong tornadoes are capable of lifting very heavy objects and carrying them considerable distances. A tornado in Moorhead MN picked up an 83-ton railway car (with 117 passengers in it), carried it 80 feet, and then dropped it in a ditch. It also tossed five other cars in the train, each weighing 70 tons or more. Another tornado picked up a locomotive, spun it 180 degrees, and set it down on a parallel track facing the opposite direction."

An Apatosaurus is around 35 tons or so it might be lifted and tossed by an F5 or larger.  Something like Argentinosaurus at 100 tons probably wouldn't.  Now the " missiles" created by flying debris with such force could conceivably kill one without ever having to move it.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

I live in Kansas and have seen tornadoes do some pretty messed up things....the short answer is , yes, they could toss a sauropod around like a rag doll depending on the size of the funnel and wind speed. Wind speed is a very key factor in any tornado event...you can get the same destruction from a huge downburst of high wind and no tornado as well. About twenty years ago, I was close to a tornado in wichita ks, that forced us into the basement of a hotel facility...when we came back up, the highway in front of the hotel for five miles in both directions was littered with RV's , from a neighboring lot, that had been thrown around like childs toys.

[Derek.McManus]

Interesting....never underestimate the power of nature!