Tornadoes

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.

Usually a tornado come after rain, as most tornadoes are located in the rear portion of a supercell.

Yes. Any tornado is dangerous. Isolated tornadoes are often not as strong as those that occur in outbreaks, but can still cause substantial damage and do sometimes kill.

There is no certain amoint of damage done by a tornado of any given intensity. The rating of a tornado is based on the severity of the damage rather than the quantity. For example, a tornado may be rated F5 based on a single well-constructed house being completely swept away (one EF5 tornado had a cost of only $700,000). Tornadoes that occur in highly rural areas mays cause less damage than the amount given. Additionally, a piece of property does not have to be completely destroyed to be considered a total loss financially.

That said, higher intensity tornadoes tend to have higher costs. The following are very rough estimates and should not be taken too seriously. This list assumes that the cost of rrepairs is about the same as the cost of damage.

F0: Where damage values are available, costs appear to generally range between in the tens of thousands of dollars and occasionally in the hundreds of thousands. Tornadoes that cause no damage are rated F0.

F1: Where damage estimates are available, damage costs appear to generally range in the tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars with some reaching into the millions. In a handful of cases, costs may exceed $10 million. Some F1 tornadoes only cause damage to trees, in which case there is no cost of repair.

F2: Where estimates are available, costs generally seem to ranges in the hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars, with occasional costs in the tens of millions. At least one F2 tornado had a price tag over $100 million.

F3: Where estimates are available costs typically range in the millions with some costs in the tens of millions. Some may exceed $100 million.

F4: Costs typically range in the tens of millions of dollars, with some in the hundred of millions except for highly rural cases. Three F4/EF4 tornadoes have costs over $1 billion, though one may have been an EF5.

F5: Costs typically range in the tens to hundreds of millions of dollars except for highly rural cases. Four confirmed F5/EF5 tornadoes have caused damage over $1 billion.

Any tornado can be dangerous. An F5 tornado is extremely dangerous. Hit by the full force of an F5 tornado, even the strongest houses will be swept away. Many F5 tornadoes are quite large, capable of leveling whole neighborhoods and killing dozens in a matter of minutes.

Tornadoes kill 60-80 people in an average year.

Alabama gets plentiful warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico. This is essentially the fuel for thunderstorms. These storms are often triggered when a cold front moves through. When these storm emerge, wind shear, or differences in wind speed and direction at different altitudes, sets the storms rotating, turning them into supercells. The rotation in these supercells can then lead to the formation of tornadoes.

Keeping track of where and when tornadoes occur, among other things, helps verify the accuracy of predictions. Patterns in tornado occurence are also useful in risk assessment.

The of April 25-28 2011. There were over 350 tornadoes in the whole outbreak with 207 in a 24 hour period on April 27.

They are generally not as strong as the tornadoes that occur in the Great Plains, with comparatively few tornadoes reaching more than F2 strength. That said, a few tornadoes in Florida have been significant killers. One the the most notable was the Kissimmee F3 tornado of 1998, which struck two trailer parks, killing 25 people.

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.

If you have insurance that include tornado damage, the insurance company will pay. If you haven't, the property owner has to pay himself. Cost of life.

That depends on which tornado you are referring to. St Louis has been hit by many tornadoes.

The St. Louis tornado of 1896 had a cost of about $20 million at the time, which is equivalent to a bout $570 million in modern amounts.

The St. Louis tornado of 1927 cost about $22 million at the time, equivalent to about $300 million today.

The St. Louis tornado of 2011 had a cost of about $30 million.

Typical damage for each level of the Enhanced Fujita scale is given below. Damage in a given scenario may recieve a different rating from what is presented here based on quality of construction and other factors.

Note that only a single instance of a given level of damage is needed for a rating, i.e. if a single house takes EF3 damage, and there is no higher damage, then the tornado will be rated EF3.

EF0: Shingles and siding peeled from houses. Weak trees may be toppled. Some tree limbs may snap. Some fences knocked down. Very weak structures may be destroyed.

EF1: Houses suffer severe roof damage, with large sections of surface removed. Poorly connected roofs may be completely torn off. Trailer homes may overturned or partially destroy. Barns and garages destroyed.

EF2: Roofs torn from well-built houses. Some exterior walls may collapse. Trailer homes completely demolished. Barns blown away. Utility poles snapped or flattened.

EF3: Exterior and interior walls fail in well-built houses. Upper stories may be removed. Weaker houses completely leveled. Steel transmission towers crumpled. Weak or poorly anchored structures blown away.

EF4: Well-constructed houses completely leveled and left as piles of debris. Some houses may be blown away. Trees debarked and denuded. Asphalt may peel from some roads.

EF5: Well-constructed, well-anchored houses blown away with foundations wiped clean. Steel-reinforced structures completely destroyed. High-rise buildings deformed.

In an area hit by an F0 tornado you are likely to see broken tree limbs and a few downed trees. Roof tiles, vinyl siding, and gutters may be peeled from some structures, but usually not in significant amounts. Fences and unanchored objects may be overturned. Some very weak structures such as sheds may be destroyed.

You will see much of the same from an F1 tornado, though with more severe damage in some places. Roofs can be severely damaged and porches collapsed. Structures such as garages and barns may be destroyed. Roofs that are not well secured may be torn off.

mostly strong but verry little weak and violent tornados

Tornadoes do not recieve formal names like hurricanes do, but are generally referred to by the place they hit. The Joplin tornado is referred to as such because it hit the city of Joplin, Missouri.

No. A tornado is a microscale storm, as very few tornadoes get to be over 2 kilometers in diameter.

colloquial means 'slang' e.g 'watssup'

Tornadoes can strike anywhere in the Philippines.

Yes. Tornado warnings are now a common part of severe weather alerts.

Yes. Tornadoes are often made visble by condensation in their funnels and by dust and debris. However, some tornadoes may be obsured from view by rain or the dark of night.

There is no single color associated with tornadoes. The sky will often have the typical gray of storm clouds. However, in some instances the clouds may appear black, green, yellow, or blue. Even when such cloud colors do occur, they do not necessarily indicate a tornado, just that the storm is intense.