Tornadoes

Tornadoes can happen just about anywhere. But those most at risk live in the central United States, Southern Canada, Bangladesh, and South Africa.

There is a siren that blows in the county that the tornado is in. However, in states such as KS, it will blow also only for a city. The siren last for a couple of minutes.

Since advanced warnings have been created tornadoes killed an average of 55 people every year in the U.S an advancement which has arisen entirely in the past 65years with major advancements in the past 30. However, the death tolls in this range vary widely. In 1986, U.S. tornadoes killed a mere 15 people, while 2011 with 553 tornadic deaths was second only to 1925.

Although they can cause some erosion, tornadoes do not usually affect the ground itself very much. However, objects on the ground such as trees and buildings can be destroyed. People can lose their homes, businesses, and even their lives.

The late afternoon and early evening is generally when the lower atmosphere is warmest, due to heating from the sun and therefore when the atmosphere as a whole is unstable. The more unstable the atmosphere, the greater the potential for thunderstorms, especially strong ones. Strong thunderstorms are needed to produce tornadoes.

The warm moist air usually originates from a tropical body of water. The body of water depends on the tornado forming region. For the United States it is usually the Gulf of Mexico.

Tornadoes usually form from a type of thunderstorm called a supercell, which has a rotating updraft called a mesocyclone. A downdraft at the back of the storm, called the rear-flank downdraft or RFD is believed to wrap around the tornado, tightening and intensifying it to produce a tornado.

It is not uncommon for tornadoes to occur in Mississippi during the summer, but they are more common in the spring.

In the U.S. May has the most tornadoes on average. Worldwide it is not known because most countries do not report reliable tornado information.

The most violent tornadoes generally occur in North America.

True tornadoes only form on earth, as far as scientists know. These may become red if they encounter red dust. The planet Mars, had red dust devils. Dust devils resemble tornadoes but they are not actually tornadoes.

There are clouds in both hurricanes and tornadoes. While a hurricane consists of one enormous cloud mass, a tornado consists of a funnel cloud extending from the base of a thunderstorm.

They didn't prepare. Waco was never warned about the approaching tornado, which was obscured by rain. As a result, nobody knew it was coming.

The Fujita scale uses the severity of the damage a tornado causes to determine its rating.

Yes, it is possible but it would take a very powerful tornado to do so. One of at least EF4 strength if the house isn't well anchored. If it is well anchored it would likely require an EF5 tornado.

One person managed to capture such an event on video near the town of Elie, Manitoba on June 22, 2007. Despite the tornado's relatively small size it was violent enough to be rated as Canada's only official F5 tornado.

The safest place to be in your house during a tornado is in the basement.

Wind speed in a tornado is usually estimated using the damage caused by the tornado's winds and the Fujita scale, which categorizes tornadoes based on their intensity. Meteorologists may also use Doppler radar data to estimate wind speeds within a tornado. Direct measurement of wind speed in a tornado is rare due to the dangerous and unpredictable nature of tornadoes.

A strong tornado is one of EF2 to greater strength, which would mean estimated winds greater than 110 mph. The next stage up, a violent tornado, beginning at EF4, has winds over 165 mph. The absolute most powerful tornadoes can produce winds in excess of 300 mph.

A haboob can mainly just cause power outages and tree damage.

It depends on how fast the tornado is moving, which varies. An average tornado moves at about 30 mph, so it would take 2 minutes to travel a mile. The fastest a tornado has ever been known to travel was 73 mph, in which case it would travel a mile in about 50 seconds. At the other end, some tornadoes barely move at all.

Both tornadoes and hurricanes are powerful weather phenomena characterized by strong winds and intense swirling motion. They can cause significant damage to structures and infrastructure, as well as posing a threat to human life. Both tornadoes and hurricanes form in specific weather conditions and are typically associated with severe thunderstorms.

If a tornado warning is issued head to your basement or cellar if you have one or to an interior room or hallway on the lowest floor. A bathroom is often good shelter. If you live in a mobile home leave it for a sturdier shelter.

The United States has the most tornadoes. The United States was founded in 1776, but the region it now occupies had been tornado prone since at least the end of the last ice age.

As of September 10, 2012 the most recent tornado in the U.S. was a high-end EF1 that struck the Canarsie area of Brooklyn in New York City on September 8. This tornado came just a few minutes after an EF0 tornado struck the Breezy Point area of Queens.