ELI5%3A%20Can tornadoes form IN the middle of an urban area/city?

Question

So I know that tornadoes can and do HIT big cities, it just doesn’t happened that often because of the “urban heat island effect.” But evervwhere seems to say it “hits” big cities, implying it form outside of the city and then went into it. But can tornadoes form inside the middle of cities, say over interstates, homes, and the like? Or is it impossible because of the
“urban heat island effect”?

In: 1

Answer 1

The urban heat island effect may decrease the chance of weak tornadoes, but won’t stop big tornadoes. The main reason big cities rarely get hit by major tornadoes is that they are relatively small in size, especially in the areas of the Great Plains and Gulf Coast southern states that are prone to tornadoes.