Tornadoes

A tornado does not have eyes, but an eye. That is because the circular motion causes t to have an opening in the very middle, and they call that an eye.

Moore, Oklahoma has been impacted by several major tornadoes.

The first, An F5 on May 3, 1999 touched down south of Amber and move northeast toward the Oklahoma City area. It first passed through and devastated the town of Bridge Creek. It continued on, narrowing and striking Newcastle and then Moore. The tornado then took a turn to the north, moving through Del City can causing damage at Tinker Air Force Base. It finally dissipated in Midwest City.

The second occurred on May 8, 2003 and was rated F4. It touched down in Moore and moved northeast, striking the south side of Tinker Air Force Base. It continued to produce major damage and finally dissipates south of Chocktaw.

The third tornado occurred on May 10, 2010 and was rated EF4. It touched down just south of Moore and moved northeast, striking the southeastern part of the community. It continued on, crossing Stanley Draper Lake and then Interstate 40 before dissipating on the south side of Harrah.

The fourth and most recent tornado was an EF5 on May 20, 2013. It touched down north of Newcastle and moved northeast. It then turned almost directly east and struck Moore. Continuing east over open country, the tornado dissipated between Moore and Stanley Draper Lake.

It depends on the size of the tornado and how fast it's moving. Most tornadoes will only be over a given spot for a few seconds. A large tornado moving at normal speed may be over a spot for a minute or two. However, one tornado was noted to have stayed on the same spot for 90 minutes.

The Joplin, Missouri EF5 tornado struck on Sunday, May 22, 2011.

Move away from where tornados happen, Dig a basement, live underground, buy insurance, Extend the roofline to the ground, Install metal or hurricane resistance shingles.

"Fujita" is a Japanese surname that can be translated to mean "wisteria rice field" in English, with "fuji" referring to wisteria and "ta" meaning rice field or paddy. It is a common family name in Japan and may also refer to various places or institutions. The name is often associated with beauty and nature due to the significance of wisteria in Japanese culture.

The Tuscaloosa, Alabama tornado of April 27, 2011 killed 64 people, making it the second deadliest tornado in Alabama history.

Another tornado hit Tuscaloosa on December 16, 2000, killing 11 people.

That is the most common direction in which tornadoes travel, but they can move in any direction.

People find tornadoes terrifying because they can kill and seriously injure people and can destroy homes in a matter of seconds. They are difficult to predict and hit quickly, often with only a few minutes of warning, and sometimes no warning.

Yes. McAllen, Texas has been hit by a few weak tornadoes.

As of May 3, 2012 the last tornado to hit Oklahoma was on April 30.

Since record keeping began in 1950 until the latest finalized record in 2012, Texas experienced 8,117 recorded tornadoes. Note that in the earlier part of this period, most weaker tornadoes were missed. Because of this, there are likely several thousand tornadoes that occurred in Texas, but were never recorded.

The cloud of condensation the a tornado produces is funnel-shaped, wider at the top than at the bottom.

First a state's climate affects the number of tornadoes it get. Tornadoes form best when cool, dry air collides with warm moist air, generating thunderstorms, in an environment of strong wind shear and a temperature inversion a mile or so above the ground. Some areas, such as the Great Plains see such conditions more often than others. Other areas may be too cold, too dry, or don't see enough temperature variation.

The size of a state also matters. A large state has more area where a tornado may potentially occur.

tornados hit the U.S. on average 1200 per year

No. An isolated storm is simply a thunderstorm that forms in an area where just a few other thunderstorms are occurring. Such storms generally cannot produce tornadoes.

A tornado is a violently rotating column of air extending from the base of a thunderstorm to the ground. The thunderstorms that produce tornadoes usually come from stronger and better organized systems than those that produce isolated thunderstorms.

F5 is the highest level on the Fujita scale, indicating an extremely violent tornado. A rating of F5 means that a tornado is strong enough to completely blow away well built houses, leaving nothing but a bare foundation. On the original Fujita scale F5 winds were estimated at 261-318 mph. However, newer data showed that these wind estimates were far too high. On the more accurate Enhanced Fujita scale a tornado with estimated winds over 200 mph is rated EF5, though the damage remains the same. Fortunately such tornadoes are extremely rare, accounting for one tornado in every 2000.

It is impossible to make such a prediction. Where a specific tornado may hit cannot be predicted more than a few minutes ahead of time. However, for today, April 7, 2012 the chances of a tornado forming anywhere in the U.S. are minimal.

under the bed or in your warddrobe/draws

They are both important but more severe would be a tornado warning. A watch means that conditions are favorable for the development of tornadoes meaning you should be watching the weather, prepare a place to go, and watch the skies, local media, and on what ever you monitor the weather with online. I use the NWS but some people use local media and others use it all. Also, make sure that you have a NOAA weather radio to alert you if something happens

There were no reports of any deaths from the tornadoes on April 3, 2012.

Not usually. Tornadoes are usually associated with cold fronts or dry lines.

Yes. Glen Rose was hit by an EF1 tornado on April 10, 2008.

The last tornado in Odessa, Tx was on 9/01/2010 EF0, Path Length: 1/4 mile. 0 deaths, 0 injured.