Tornadoes

Tornadoes hit the U.S. every year.

There were a total of 1,817 tornadoes in the U.S. in 2004 of which 20 were killers. These tornadoes claimed a total of 36 lives. The deadliest of these was an F3 in Illinois that killed 8.

No. A tornado is at most 2.5 miles wide and only a handful have been observed at over 2 miles. A tsunami, by contrast, can impact a shoreline thousands of miles long.

Generally not. A tsunami can usually cause more damage because it affects a bigger area. However, a tornado can often cause worse damage in a small area.

Well that is up to "Mother Nature" Do Decide My Friend.

mostly where the breezes collide so in the south western regions and sometimes in the middle states because since we are surrounded by coastal water and Canada which has very frigid temperatures the mixture of the two different air climates causes tornadoes

Texas has the highest annual average followed by Oklahoma and Kansas.

Yes, by far. Of the more than 360 tornado fatalities in the U.S. so far this year well over 200 have been in Alabama. The Tuscaloosa-Birmingham tornado and the Hackleburg-Phil Campbell tornado, both in Alabama, are the deadliest to hit the U.S. in 56 years.

Yes, on April 27, 2011 Cullman, Alabama was hit by an EF4 tornado, one of many tornadoes that touched down that day.

1. Create a designated safe space in your home such as a basement or interior room on the lowest level, away from windows.

2. Listen to weather updates and warnings from local authorities through a battery-powered weather radio or smartphone alerts.

3. If you're driving, seek shelter immediately in a sturdy building or underground and avoid taking refuge in vehicles or under highway overpasses.

4. Prepare an emergency kit with essentials like water, non-perishable food, flashlight, batteries, first aid supplies, and important documents.

5. Have a plan in place for your family to quickly and safely reunite if separated during a tornado, and practice drills regularly to ensure everyone knows what to do.

A cyclone is bigger than a tornado by far, but a tornado is usually more violent.

The worst tornado in Oklahoma history was the Woodward tornado of April 9, 1947. It killed a total of 181 people; 68 in Texas and 113 in Oklahoma. Most of the deaths were in the town of Woodward. The towns of Glazier and Higgins in Texas were also devastated.

It depends if it's deep enough for preotection and if their are rooms that you can close your self in. Remeber stay away from Windows

Note that how damaging a tornado is depends on not just the intensity, but also on where it hits, how large it is, and how long it lasts. Depending on quality of construction, a damage indicator typically associate with one category can also be found in lower categories. Also, a tornado of a given rating may only produce the corresponding damage level of damage along a small portion of its path, with most of the path dealing lesser damage.

EF0: Typical damage includes broken tree limbs with some trees uprooted. Some roofs will lose shingles. Gutters, awnings, and siding may be taken down. Fences may be knocked down and some small, weak structures such as sheds may be destroyed. Weak roofs may suffer significant damage. Damage in such tornadoes is often inconsistent, and may seem to skip.

EF1: Many buildings will suffer severe roof damage, and some poorly secured roofs may be torn off. Some houses will have broken windows. Trailers may be overturned and badly damaged, with some weaker trailers destroyed. Barns and outbuildings will be destroyed. Some weak, free standing walls may collapse. EF0 and EF1 tornadoes are usually short lived and small, so damage usually occurs in a small area. Such tornadoes rarely make more than local news.

EF2: Well made roofs will be mostly or completely torn from houses. Some exterior walls in houses may collapse. Trailers will be completely destroyed. Poorly anchored homes may be shifted. Large trees and most utility poles will be snapped. Small vehicles may be thrown short distances. An EF2 tornado in a trailer park can easily cause significant destruction.

EF3: Numerous walls will collapse in well built houses, with some losing their entire second stories. In some cases only a few interior walls are left standing. Houses of weaker construction may be leveled. Poorly anchored houses may be shifted of their foundations and collapse. Steel transmission and cell towers will likely be crumpled. Large vehicles may be lifted into the air. It is usually at this intensity that new media report major damage. Images of badly damaged homes seen on the national news usually consists of a mix of EF2 and EF3 damage.

EF4: Well built houses will be completely leveled, with some blown off their foundations. Trees may be significantly debarked. Asphalt may be peeled from some roads. Most tornadoes with death tolls over 20 are of at least EF4 strength.

EF5: Houses of even the best construction will be wiped clean off their foundations. Ground may be scoured in some swaths. Large objects will be carried great distances.

EF4 and EF5 tornadoes are usually very large and can easily become infamous. These tornadoes, especially those rated EF5, can flatten whole neighborhoods and devastate entire communities.

The death toll in Mississippi from the latest outbreak is at least 34, but those deaths are from at least 7 different killer tornadoes, rather than just one. The outbreak as a whole has claimed as many as 350 lives, most of them in Alabama.

Yes. There have been hundreds of tornadoes that have resulted in deaths.

Tornadoes in April 2011 killed 363 people.

Unfortunately many animals do die in tornadoes, depending on the strength of the tornado. Animals will naturally hide, and I would imagine that they generally make it through such situations because most are quite small and obviously can't get caught in a car or a collapsing house when a tornado strikes, and certainly those that can hide underground probably come out unscathed most often.

It doesn't make a difference.

An EF5 is the highest of six categories (EF0 to EF5) on the Enhanced Fujita scale and the strongest type of tornado with estimated winds of over 200 mph (322 km/h). Tornadoes this strong are absolutely devastating. Well-built houses are wiped clean off their foundations and large, well constructed buildings are reduced to rubble. Fortunately they are very rare, with only 1 tornado in every 2000 being rated this high.

There were many tornadoes in Alabama in April 2011. The one you are referring to was probably the Tuscaloosa tornado of April 27. The tornado was at a mile and a half wide and appears to have been a borderline EF4/EF5, though the official rating is EF4.

Yes, waterspouts can capsize boats. They can also move onto land to become full-fledged tornadoes.

Damage from the whole outbreak is estimated at $10-11 billion, but it is not from a single tornado but from a series of over 200 tornadoes of which 62 were in Alabama.

Looking at the totals from the most destructive tornadoes damage amounts to well over $4 billion. The most destructive and second deadliest of these tornadoes was the Tuscaloosa-Birmingham tornado which caused $2.2 billion in damage. Also of note is the Hackleburg-Phil Campbell tornado with a cost of $1.25 billion.

The average tornado lasts about 10 minutes.

The last F5 or EF5 tornado to hit the United States was on May 20, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma.

The last U.S. tornado to be rated F5 on the original Fujita scale (though EF5 is essentially the same rating) was the Bridgecreek-Moore, Oklahoma tornado of May 3, 1999.