Tornadoes

Raleigh has had tornadoes before, so it is pretty much inevitable that it will have one again. However, there is no way of knowing when the next one will be. As of February 11, 2013 there is some risk of severe weather on the U.S. East Coast in the next week or so, but the chances of a tornado hitting any given location are very small.

An EF4 tornado can completely level well-constructed houses and blow away houses of average or below average construction. They can strip bark from trees, lift large objects, and even peel pavement from roads.

Although I cannot say for sure without seeing the list of options, the answer is most likely none of the above. Residents of many towns believe they are protected from tornadoes by a river, lake, or hill when none of these things will stop a tornado. The apparent lack of tornadoes in most of these towns is usually a matter of mere chance.

Yes. Tornadoes are not uncommon in Kentucky.

Yes, there was at least one tornado in Miami, Florida in 1997.

It was rated F1.

Yes, tornadoes can and have hit mountainous areas.

The worst tornado in Kansas history was the Udall tornado of May 25, 1955. This F5 tornado first touched down in Oklahoma and moved northward into Kansas, striking the small town of Udall, where 75 people were killed. Five more people were killed on a farm. The southern part of Udall was completely swept away. This was the deadliest tornado in Kansas history and the 25th deadliest in U.S. history. It was the last tornado in the U.S. to kill more than 60 people until 2011.

Michigan's worst tornado struck the town of Flint on June 8, 1953 killing 116 people, marking it has the tenth deadliest tornado in U.S. history. The tornado reached F5 intensity, the highest rating on the Fujita scale.

Generally waterspouts are only as strong as very weak tornadoes. However, some waterspouts, known as tornadic waterspouts, are basically tornadoes that just happen to be on water and can be just as strong as their land based counterparts.

Most deaths and injuries of a tornado are the result of people being hit by flying or falling debris.

A tornado on the ocean, known as a waterspout, will lift some water into the air as a spray, but not in particularly large amounts. Fish and other marine life unfortunate enough to be at the surface may be lifted into the air as well. Waterspouts can pose a significant threat to boats.

75-80% of recorded tornadoes occur in the U.S. This is misleading however, as many countries do not keep record of tornadoes. So it is likely that most of the tornadoes that occur elsewhere in the world are missed.

Tornadoes can hit just about anywhere that there are thunderstorms. The Majority of recorded tornadoes strike in the U.S. This statistic is misleading, however as many countries do not keep official records of tornadoes.

The true Tornado Alley covers portions of the states of Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, and Missouri. Another major tornado-forming region in the U.S. is Dixie Alley, which covers parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and southern Tennessee. Florida also experiences high tornado activity, but unlike Tornado Alley and Dixie Alley is relatively lacking in strong tornadoes.

Unfortunately there is little you can do to an existing house to protect it from tornadoes. You can install hurricane ties in the roof connections, which will make it harder for a tornado to remove the roof. You can also install wind-resistant glass in the windows, which may withstand winds of up to 160 miles per hour.

If you do not have a basement then you may want to consider getting an above ground tornado shelter. The shelter will not protect your home but it will provide a safe place for you. Some of these shelters can withstand winds in excess of 300 miles per hour.

The most destructive known tornado touched down just west of the city of Joplin, Missouri on May 22, 2011 and traveled straight into the community where it reached peak strength. The cost of damage reached $2.8 billion, the highest of any U.S. tornado. The tornado also left 158 dead, making it the seventh deadliest tornado in U.S. history and the deadliest since 1947.

There are two types of waterspout, tornadic waterspouts and fair-weather waterspouts.

Tornadic waterspouts are exactly the same as ordinary, supercell-spawned tornadoes except for the fact that they occur on water.

Fair-weather waterspouts are a different matter. Instead of forming from the mesocyclone of a supercell they form when the water surface is warmer than the air above, when this meets vorticity near the surface a circulation may start to form, and then connect to a developing thunderstorm's updraft, or the updraft of a cumulus congestus cloud.

In short these waterspouts form mostly from the ground up whereas ordinary tornadoes form from the cloud base down. Additionally, fair-weather waterspouts are generally weaker than supercell tornadoes, with winds not usually exceeding 70 mph. They usually dissipate if they hit land.

However, there is a variety of tornado that occurs on land, often called a landspout or non-supercell tornado. These tornadoes are similar in structure and formation to fair-weather waterspouts. They are generally weaker than ordinary tornadoes but have been known to reach high F2 or even low F3 intensity.

The safest months in Oklahoma for tornadoes are January, February, and December.

Tornadoes can probably occur in any country as any place that can get thunderstorms can get tornadoes.

No. While it is possible that a tornado may have briefly produced winds over 318 mph, no such winds have been recorded (the record so far is 302 mph). Even then tornado ratings are based more on damage than on wind speed. Since F5 damage is complete destruction there is no room or use for a higher category.

Michican gets its fair share of tornadoes. Compared to other states, it is close to the median. It usually gets between a dozen and two dozen tornadoes per year, but has seen a few major outbreaks.

There are two types of waterspout: tornadic waterspouts and "fair weather" waterspouts.

Tornadic waterspouts are normal tornadoes that form from supercells that happen to be on water.

However, most waterspouts are of the "fair weather" variety. These waterspouts are weaker than supercell tornadoes and they typically are associated with developing storms while normal tornadoes are produced by very strong mature thunderstorms. Their formation is more like that of dust devils.

They form when a line of developing storms or even cumulus clouds with strong convection move into an environment where the water is warmer than the air. The air just above the surface will be warm and naturally tend to rise. If there is weak rotation near the surface it can be taken up into this updraft and intensify. As this happens the ground level updraft becomes one with the higher-level updraft from the developing storm or cloud and the two joined updrafts enhance one another..

It actually varies with region, with the deep south and down toward Florida getting their season in late winter/early Spring, while the upper Midwest has their tornado season during the Spring and Summer. Tornadoes are most common in general from the months of April through June, which corresponds to tornado season in much of tornado alley through the Ohio River Valley.

However, tornadoes can (and have) occurred any day of the year.