Tornadoes

Areas at the highest risk from tornadoes include the central and southern United States, Bangladesh and eastern India, parts of Europe, South Africa, Australia, and parts of Argentina and Brazil.

Yes. Tornadoes occur in North Carolina, some of which can be quite strong. The most recent major event was on April 16, 2011 when 31 tornadoes hit the state, killing 24 people.

Yes, the El Reno, Oklahoma tornado of May 31, 2013 has officially been rated EF3, but there is some controversey over this.

Tornado ratings are based on damage and have accompanying wind speed estimates. The damage caused by the tornado was no higher than EF3, which was the basis for the final rating. For some time, however, the rating of the tornado stood at EF5 as mobile Doppler radar detected wind gusts in the tornado to over 295 mph, well into the estimated EF5 range, which starts at just over 200 mph and has no upper bound. This measurement was made while the tornado was over open country where there were no structures to damage.

The National Weather Service ultimately chose to reject the wind speed measurement, and rate the tornado EF3 based on damage, which is the basis for ratings on the EF scale. This was likley the right decision, as the wind measurements were taken from a point several hundred feet up in the funnel, where winds would likely be much faster than they are near ground level, where damage occurs. The accuracy of the wind speed estimates of the EF scale have not been fully verified.

It is impossible to predict when a place will be hit by a tornado. Warnings for specific locations can seldom issued more than 30 minutes in advance.

It is impossible to make such predictions. The farther out you try to predict a weather event, the less certain it is. Where an individual tornado is likely to hit cannot be predicted more than a few minutes in advance.

Tornadoes can occur just about anywhere in the US but are most common on the Great Plains and in the Deep South.

It is not known. It is impossible to predict a tornado for a specific location until it actually occurs. Regional tornado potential can be predicted up to a few days in advance, but even then there is a lot of uncertainty. A forecast could say tornadoes are likely, but cannot say for certain if a tornado will touch down in a particular area such as central Louisiana. As of August 22, 2013 there is little to no tornado potential in the southern United States for the next few days.

No, you're thinking of earthquakes.

The Great Natchez tornado struck the towns of Natchez, Mississippi and Vidalia, Louisiana of May 7, 1840.

a significant portion of Campbellsburg, Kentucky was detroyed by a tornado on April 1, 1974, 2 days before the start of the infamous Super Outbreak of 1974.

Emergency workers such as firefighters, police, and paramedics are ready to help in the event of a natural disaster such as a tornado. They will help organize search and rescue efforts, free people from destroyed buildings, treat the wounded, and recover any dead. Anybody with medical experience can be useful, as in the worst cases there may be too many injuries for local hospitals to handle. In the longer term, state and federal funding can help in cleanup and recovery efforts and provide temproary housing for those who have lost their homes.

Unfortunately it is impossible to make long term predictions of tornadoes such as that.

That most likely depends on your insurance policy, so it is advisable that you review your insurance polcy to see if tornado damage is covered. If not, insurance for tornadoes can be purchased.

There've been tornado warnings for the Front Range and eastern CO, but I haven't seen any reports of tornados touching down anywhere.

A bathroom is not your only other option during a tornado. Any interior room, closet, or hallway on the lowest floor can protect you. Even getting under a bed can offer protection. Another option is to go to a nearby sturdy building, or some other nearby structure where you can get underground. If you live in a mobile home, you should definitely leave it for more substatial shelter.

Not by themselves, no. Most tornadoes form from a kind of severe thunderstorm called a supercell. These storms typically produce strong wind and heavy rain. These components can have some involvement in the formation of the tornado, but are not the direct cause. Much more is at work within the storm.

A green sky doesn't necessarily indicate tornadoes, nor are tornadoes always accompanied by a green sky. Tornadoes form during severe thunderstorms. Generally speaking, the stronger a thunderstorm is, the taller it is and the more moisture it holds. The large amounts of condensed moisture refract light, separating out the different colors. This, combined with the fact that tornadoes often occur in the late afternoon when the sun is low can lead unusual lighting conditions, and make the clouds appear green, blue, or yellow.

There appear to be no records of any tornadoes stronger than F3 hitting Mustang.

There is no official beginning or end to tornado season anywhere, but for Illinois it can generally said to end in mid June. Tornadoes do occur outside of the normal season, just less frequently. One of the most notable examples came on August 28, 1990 when an F5 tornado hit Plainfield, a suburb of Chicago, killing 29 people.

Arizona does get strong tornadoes, but very rarely. Since official record keeping began in 1950, 3 tornadoes in Arizona have been rated F3 or EF3, with nothing rated higher.

The UK has a high concentration of tornadoes, but these tornadoes are generally so weak that they attract little attention. Technically, the UK gets more tornadoes per 10,000 square miles than the U.S. does on average. Many people misintepret this as meaning that the UK gets more tornadoes, but this is not the case.

The U.S. averages more than 1,200 tornadoes a year and has an area of about 3,800,000 square miles, giving it 3.2 tornadoes per 10,000 square miles.

The UK averages about 70 tornadoes per year and has an area of about 94,000 square miles, giving it an average of about 7.4 tornadoes per 10,000 square miles.

However, tornadoes in the U.S. are stronger more concentrated on the central plains and in the Deep South. While the UK has only had a handful of tornadoes stronger than F1 in the past 50 years, the U.S. expriences F4 and F5 tornadoes on a regular basis.

Tornado weather warnings in Canada can be found from a number of reliable sources. Local news and weather will give up to date weather and weather warnings for the area you are in or are visiting. Yon can also find this information from Canadian weather sites on the internet or buy world news and weather sites.

Oklahoma is most prone to tornadoes in the months of April, May, and June.

The most common cause of death in a tornado is being hit by debris.