Tornadoes

It isn't. Although the eye of a tornado is relatively calm, to get to it you have to go through the core winds of the tornado. It would be impossible to stay in the eye for very long.

It is impossible to predict when a tornado will hit any location unless it is minutes away from happening. Based on simple statistical probability, Quantico will probably not be hit at all. In any given year most towns will not be hit by a tornado.

A funnel cloud is a potentially tornadic vortex that has not reached the ground. Funnel cloud formation starts when a downdraft wraps around a large circulation called a mesocyclone, squeezing it, and causing it to narrow and stretch downward. If the resulting vortex reaches the ground, it is called a tornado.

Tornadoes in February and March most often occur in the southeastern United States, especially the Gulf Coast states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.

Yes. Many people in tornado-prone regions have storm cellars or, in more recent years, an above-ground storm shelter. Though not all do.

Records on path width are not always reliable. However, the largest tornado on Record appear to have been an F4 tornado that struck on June 2, 1990. The tornado first formed in Indiana and then moved into Ohio, passing through suburbs north of Cincinnati. It was 3/4 mile wide.

Yes. Tornadoes produce the most destructive winds on Earth. Hurricanes can have higher death tolls, but for them, wind is not the greastest danger.

It depends on what area you define as Tornado Alley, as there are no officialli defined boundaries, but it appears that the region averages between 450 and 500 tornadoes per year.

England does get tornadoes, however, the vast majority are weak and are unlikely to be reported beyond local news. The last significant tornado in England was an F2 that hit Birmingham in 2005.

England is not prone to the violent tornadoes you often hear about in the United States because it has a rather cool climate. The storms that produce strong tornadoes generally need a supply of hot, humid air among other conditions.

Not really. While tornadoes do occur in New York, strong tornadoes are rare and deaths are even less common.

Not exactly in the funnel of a tornado, but in somce cases a rainbow may appear next to, in front of, or behind a tornado. This often happens when a tornado is near the edge of a thunderstorm and is surrounded by rain. Since tornadoes most often occur in the late afternoon, the sun can easily be at a low enough angle to produce a rainbow.

Generally you don't thrive during a tornado. For most, a tornado is an incredibly frightening experience. Even though most people affected by a tornado will escape without significant physical injury, there will still be the loss of property. Life during and immediately after a tornado could hardly be described as thriving.

it depends on the situation

The only cloud you will actually find inside a tornado is the condensation funnel. Other clouds, such as the wall cloud and cumulonimbus are outside the tornado itself.

The deadliest tornado in Illinois history was the Tri-State tornado of March 18, 1925. This F5 tornado tore a 219-mile-long damage path across portions of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, killing at least 695 people, making it by far the deadliest tornado in U.S. history. A least 606 people died in Illinois.

The average lead time for a tornado warning is 14 minutes.

Theodore Fujita develop the fujita scale in 1971

The number of tornadoes in 1900 is not known. Official records for the United States only go back to 1950, and the vast majority of tornadoes were missed. Work by tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis indicates that there were at least 51 significant tornadoes (F2 or stronger or causing a death) in the U.S. in 1900. However, most tornadoes are not rated as significant, and many F2 tornadoes may still have been missed.

A tornado itself is not a cloud, though it is often made visible by one. A cloud is a mass of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air. The vast majority of clouds are not violent in any way.

A tornado is a violently rotating vortex of wind that connects to the base of a thunderstorm and the ground, capable of causing significant damage. The cloud associated with a tornado is called a funnel. This cloud is unique in terms of the violent rotation with in it and for the fact that it will often be in contact with the ground.

It is better to say that a brick house is more likely to survive. There are a number of factors at work. A house built of brick is not necessarily better built, as it may be lacking structural integrity in other areas. In the very strongest tornadoes, no house will survive, no matter how well-built it is.

The severity of damage from a tornado can be very selective; F5 damage can occur right next to F1 damage. In some cases tornado may completely destroy one house while leaving a nearby house of similar or even weaker construction with minimal damage.

Immediately go to a protected location. If you have a basement or storm cellar, go there. If you don't have one, then go to an interior room, hallway, or closet on the lowest floor with no windows. If you have a sturdy table, you can crawl underneath the table. If the house collapses, you have a chance that the table can protect you. A bathroom and bathtub may also be recommended if other suitable rooms are not available. Mobile homes should be abandoned for nearby sturdier shelter. Contrary to popular belief, you should should not open windows. This does nothing to protect your house and only wastes valuable time.

Tornadoes can form in most parts of the world and over almost any terrain. They are somewhat more likely to form over flat areas, but contrary to popular belief, they can and do strike hilly and mountainous areas. Tornado activity is influenced more by climate than by topography. Areas of high tornado activity include North America between the Rockies and Appalachians, Bangladesh and India, Australia, parts of Europe, northern Argentina, and South Africa.

The main application is to use the data to study patterns in wind speed, wind direction, and baromentric pressure at ground level in a tornado. This holds an advantage as Doppler radar, which is also used in studying tornadoes, generally cannot gather data from the 50 feet or so portion of a tornado. The behavior of winds at ground level is worth studying because that is where damage occurs.