Tornado

For other uses of Tornado, see Tornado (disambiguation).

\nA tornado is a violent windstorm characterized by a twisting, funnel-shaped cloud. The word "tornado" comes from the Spanish or Portuguese verb tornar, meaning "to turn." The phenomena appears in storms all around the world, though they most commonly occur in a broad area of the American Midwest and South known as Tornado Alley, but some other countries see the storms occur in even higher densitites.

Table of contents

1 Tornado formation 2 Tornado characteristics 3 Tornado awareness and safety 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

Tornado formation

Tornadoes develop from severe thunderstorms, usually spawned from squall lines and supercell thunderstorms, though they sometimes happen as a result of a hurricane. They are believed to be produced when cool air overrides a layer of warm air, forcing the warm air to rise rapidly, though tornadoes over water (waterspouts) frequently are observed forming in the absence of convection or apparent strong surface temperature differences. Tornadoes are inextricably associated with lightning, and tornadoes (as well as dust devils) exhibit enormous electromagnetic fields that are inexplicable by convection models. Many tornadoes appear at the tail end of mesocyclones, coming from areas on radar screens that show a characteristic "hook echo". The damage from a tornado is a result of the high wind velocity and wind-blown debris, as well as from electromagnetic effects, which frequently cause "freak" occurrences like wood impaling metal or stone, dried grasses (straw) impaling wood or animals and other similar effects inexplicable by fluid dynamics alone. Tornado winds range from a slow 40 mi/h (65 km/h) at the low end to a possible 300 mi/h (480 km/h) in the strongest storms. Some computer models have suggested that certain storms can produce wind speeds that some might consider supersonic. Tornado season in North America is generally March through August, although tornadoes can occur at any time of year. They tend to occur in the afternoons and evenings: over 80 percent of all tornadoes strike between noon and midnight. Tornadoes can be nearly invisible, marked only by swirling debris at the base of the funnel. Others are composed of several mini-funnels. A tornado must by definition have both ground and cloud contact. The United States experiences by far the most tornadoes of any country, and has also suffered the most intense ones. However, tornadoes do occur throughout the world; the most tornado-prone region of the world, as measured by number of tornadoes per unit area, is the United Kingdom, especially England. In Canada, an average of 80 tornadoes occur annually, killing 2, injuring 20 and causing tens of millions of dollars in damage. On average, the United States experiences 100,000 thunderstorms each year, resulting in over 1,000 tornadoes and approximately 50 deaths per year. The deadliest US tornado on record is the March 18, 1925 Tri-State Tornado that went across southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois, and southern Indiana, killing 695 people. More than six tornadoes in one day is considered a tornado outbreak. The biggest tornado outbreak on record—with 148 tornadoes, including six F5 and 30 F4 tornadoes—occurred on April 3, 1974. It is dubbed The Super Outbreak. Another such significant storm system was The Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak which affected the United States Midwest on April 11, 1965. The intensity of tornadoes is given by the Fujita-Pearson Tornado Scale (also known simply as Fujita scale). The intensity can be derived directly with high resolution Doppler radar wind speed data, or empirically derived from structural damage compared to engineering data. Also, note that intensity does not refer in any way to the size, or width, of a tornado. Trained weather spotters are often on alert to look for tornadoes and notify local weather agencies when severe weather is occurring or predicted to be imminent. In the United States, skywarn spotters, often local sheriff's deputies, fulfill this role. Additionally, some individuals, known as storm chasers, enjoy pursuing thunderstorms and tornadoes to explore their many visual and scientific aspects.

Tornado characteristics

\nNo two tornadoes look exactly alike. Nor have any two tornadoes behaved exactly the same. There are true incidents of tornadoes repeatedly hitting the same town several years in a row. But forecasting the exact position a tornado will strike at a certain time is nearly impossible. Also, anywhere that convection can occur, is a place where tornadoes can be formed. Not every thunderstorm, supercell, squall line, or hurricane will produce a tornado. Luckily, it is very difficult for a tornado to form. It takes exactly the right combination of atmospheric variables (wind, temperature, pressure, humidity, etc) to spawn even a weak tornado. On the other hand, the instances for tornado formation are very repeatable. Those instances are governed largely by the seasons and the immediate weather patterns. Of all tornadoes formed in the US, F0 and F1 tornadoes account for a large percentage of occurrences. On the other end of the scale, the massively destructive F5 tornadoes account for less than 2% of all tornadoes in the US. Even though no two tornadoes are exactly alike, they always have the same general characteristics that classify them as tornadoes. First, a tornado is a microscale rotating area of wind. A thunderstorm can rotate, but that does not mean it is a tornado. Secondly, the vortex, rotating wind, must come from a convective cloud base. Some of those are thunderstorms embedded in squal lines, supercell thunderstorms, and also not to exclude the outer fringes of landfalling hurricanes. Third, a spinning vortex of air must have a wind speed above a certain rate to be classified by the Fujita scale as a tornado. Edward Lewis has claimed tornadoes are associated with plasma effects, and Peter Thomson of the United Kingdom has provided experimental proof that charged sheath vortices, which self-organize in plasmas subjected to electric currents, can and do create tornadoes[1]. In 1928, a farmer allegedly became the only person in history to have looked up into a tornado and survived. He did so by retreating to his storm cellar. However, shortly after entered, the tornado passed directly overhead pulling the door off the cellar. He hung onto a support beam until the tornado passed. Attempts have been made by storm chasers to drop probes in the path of oncoming tornados in an effort to analyze the interior of the storms, but only about five drops have been successful since around 1990. According to Environment Canada, the chances of being killed by a tornado are 12 million to 1 (12,000,000:1).

Tornado awareness and safety

\nEach time tornado season comes around, schools and media outlets in tornado-prone areas spend time educating the public about the dangers and what can be done to improve the chances of surviving a storm. In the United States, citizens are often advised to purchase NOAA Weather Radios. They are relatively inexpensive devices costing as little as US$20 which will activate whenever the National Weather Service issues severe weather warnings. Warnings are also carried on radio and television, and most communities have civil defense sirens that will activate when severe weather is believed to be approaching. When tornado warnings are issued, members of the public are advised to get into sheltered areas. In most buildings, it is recommended to seek shelter in a central, windowless room or corridor, below ground if possible. If a tornado does strike a building, it can cause debris to rain down on people inside, so it is advisable to crouch under strong beams, in doorways, or under strong furniture. However, light structures such as mobile homes are in severe danger when tornadoes and strong winds appear. Residents of such structures are advised to evacuate them whenever severe weather is imminent and seek shelter in sturdier buildings, whether they are designated shelters or the homes of nearby friends. Storm cellars are also common places of refuge in some regions. Vehicles are extremely dangerous in a tornado. If the tornado is visible, far away, and the traffic is light, you may be able to drive out of its path by moving at right angles to the tornado. Otherwise, park the vehicle as quickly and safely as possible -- out of the traffic lanes (it is safer to get the vehicle out of mud later if necessary than to cause a crash) and seek shelter in a sturdy building or ditch. You should not, under any circumstances, stay in a vehicle if the vehicle is in or near the path of a tornado. Vehicles are easily tossed around by the extreme winds created by a tornado. Some people take shelter underneath bridge overpasses during storms, but they are not considered a safe place to take shelter. The National Weather Service office based in Norman, Oklahoma has created a presentation discussing the use of bridges as protection during the Oklahoma Tornado Outbreak that occurred on May 3, 1999 in the region of Oklahoma City where tornadoes passed over three different bridges—at least one person was killed in each instance. Bridges vary in construction, and many do not provide any significant protection from the wind and flying debris. Further safety information is available via the "External links" section below.

See also

\n* Curl\n* Dust devil\n* Fire tornado\n* Waterspout\n* List of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks\n* Tropical cyclone\n* Tornado records\n* Sudden downturn of F5 tornadoes Talks about the dry spell of F5 tornadoes we've seen this century.

References

\n*Thomas P. Grazulis; Significant Tornadoes: 1860 - 1991; Environmental Films; ISBN 1879362007 (hardcover, 1993)

External links

\n*Tornado Frequently Asked Questions. National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center.\n*Tornadoes in Kansas. Library of Congress, America's Story.\n*F3 and F4 tornadoes in Germany since 1900\n*Tornado damage (in 1899; archived panoramic photographs)\n*Tornado images (Public Domain)\n*The Tornado Project Online!\n*TorDACH: Centre of Competence for Severe Local Storms in D, A, CH\n*Highway Overpasses as Tornado Shelters: Fallout from the May 3, 1999 Tornado Outbreak. National Weather Service, Norman, Oklahoma.\n*An F3 tornado hit Acht (Eifel, Germany) on June 10th 2003\n*Vehicle damage by a tornado Category:Natural hazards\nCategory:Meteorology\nCategory:Weather\n\n\n\n\n\n