Tornadoes

The last tornadoes in the US in 2014 struck southeastern Texas on December 27.

No. While the Chesapeake Bay areas does get tornadoes, it is not particularly tornado prone.

No. Many towns on hills or in hilly areas have been hit by tornadoes.

Humans cannot start tornadoes.

The 2013 Washington, Illinois tornado was rated as a high-end EF4.

The Moore, Oklahoma tornado of 1999 caused $1 billion worth of damage. This works out to $1.4 billion in 2014 amounts.

Tornadoes generally form along fronts. Whether or not the area is coastal has no significant impact on occurrence.

Fire tornadoes, more properly called fire whirls, generally form during very intense fires. Eddies, or weak vortices in the wind, may be caught in the rising air current or updraft of the fire. This causes the eddies to stretch, tighten, and intensify into fairly strong vortices, which then pull in smoke and fire.

Yes. It is fairly common for hurricanes to produce tornadoes. However, hurricane-spawned tornadoes usually aren't as strong as those produce by other systems.

A typical tornado lasts a few minutes. Tornadoes lasting less than a minute are not uncommon. On very rare occasions a tornado may last for two or three hours.

While tornadoes can kill people, usually only a very small percentage of the people in a tornado's path die. More people may be injured, but even then, most will not be. The greatest impact on the majority of people is property damage, which may range from minor damage to homes and businesses to losing everything. Business have to close for repairs and homes have to be rebuilt. Some people will move away after losing their homes, which has an especially profound effect on small communities. Power may be out for days, even outside of the tornado's direct path.

Yes. Tornadoes do occur in Washington and Oregon. However, tornadoes stronger than F1 are rare.

Neither of these regions have exact boundaries, but general distributions can be given. Tornado Alley covers significant portions of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Iowa as well as parts of Missouri and Colorado. Dixie Alley covers portions of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and, by some counts, part of Arkansas.

Less than 1% of thunderstorms produce tornadoes.

As of October 13, 2014 the last known tornado was on October 10 near Centerville, Tennessee. it was rated EF1. More tornadoes are expected today.

Kansas gets the most tornadoes per square mile.

Yes. There was a small outbreak of tornadoes in the United States on October 13, mostly along the Mississippi Valley.

No. Tornadoes are rather rare in Washington. Strong tornadoes capable of producing major damage are extremely rare. The state has never recorded a violent (F4 or F5) tornado.

There are two basic ways in which tornadoes cause damage. First, the wind in a tornado carries an enormous amount of force, which can damage tor destroy structures and vegetation. Second, debris carried by a tornado can cause significant damage on impact.

The vast majority of tornadoes have cyclonic rotation, meaning that those in the northern hemisphere rotate counterclockwise while those in the southern hemisphere rotate clockwise. About one tornado in every thousand breaks this trend.

The degree of damage varies widely. Weak tornadoes can peel away roof tiles and siding and break windows. Strong tornadoes can rip away roofs and walls, sometimes shifting houses off their foundations. Violent tornadoes can levels houses to the ground, or even completely blow them away.

1. Rotation in the clouds of a thunderstorm.
2. A persistent lowering of the cloud base in this area.
3. A hole opening in the clouds near this lowering.
4. Possible strong winds associated with the opening.
5. A funnel cloud descending from the lowered cloud base.

Tornadoes are generally perceived as destructive, funnel-shaped whirlwinds.

Yes. The duration of a tornado is measured in minutes, and a tornado is usually not over any given spot for more than a few seconds.