Tornadoes

Tornadoes are produced by very strong thunderstorms. So aside from the obvious thunder and lightning tornadoes are often accompanied by heavy rain (though often in a different portion of the storm), hail, and strong straight-line winds.

the Daulatapur Saltaria Bangladesh tornado of April 25 1989

From 1950 to 2011 there were 56,221 tornadoes recorded in the U.S. of which 388 or 0.6% hit California. This figure may be somewhat skewed as for the first 30 years or so of this period the majority of tornadoes were missed.

Tornadoes can happen at any time of year but they are most common in sprind and early summer.

EF5 damage is total devastation.

Well constructed houses are wiped clean off their foundations and can be carried or thrown great distances. Virtually nothing can withstand the full force of an EF5. Even concrete structures are heavily damaged.

The Tri-State tornado had a path of 219 miles long and 3/4 mile to 1 mile wide across 3 states and numerous mining towns.

A wall cloud is typically associated with severe weather events such as tornadoes, making it more dangerous than a bubble cloud which is harmless and mainly a result of condensation. Wall clouds are characterized by rotating updrafts and are often found in supercell thunderstorms, indicating the potential for severe weather. Bubble clouds are usually small and puffy with no significant weather implications.

There are many ways in which tornadoes can differ.

They can differ in wind speed, winds may range from 65 mph to over 300 mph, though the lower wind ranges are more common.

They can differ in diameter, ranging from less than 10 yards wide, to the record size of 2.5 miles.

Distance traveled can range from several yards to over 200 miles (the record is 219 miles).

Tornadoes can range from being nearly stationary to traveling at over 70 mph.

Tornadoes differ in how long they last, ranging from a few seconds to over 3 hours.

Tornadoes can even differ in structure. Some tornadoes are a simple single vortex while others have a downdraft moving down the center, this can produce multiple smaller vorticies within the funnel.

All of these factors combined with where and when a tornado hits influences how much damage occurs and how many deaths and injuries there are.

You should not be in the car. A car is a dangerous place to be if there is a tornado. If a tornado is coming, dry to get out of its path by driving at a right angle to its motion, or at least as close to one as the roads will allow.

If you are unsure of your ability to escape, get out of the car and lie in a ditch or depression.

Tornadoes nearly always spin counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere with the exception of about 1% which are called anticyclonic tornadoes.

The first recorded tornado was reported in 1054 in the Delta of the Nile, Egypt. Tornadoes can occur worldwide, with the central United States known as Tornado Alley experiencing the most frequent tornado activity.

Tornado season begins in March and ends in July. April is historically the deadliest month, although May has more tornadoes.

However, tornadoes hit the U.s. in all months. Tornado season is simply more active.

As of April 27, 2014, there is an ongoing tornado outbreak. Tornadoes have ocurred in Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, and Arkansas.

Reports indicate a tornado in Quapaw, Oklahoma is reported to have killed 2 people.

A large, destructive tornado caused major damage in Mayflower and Vilonia, Arkansas, with unconfirmed reports of fatalities. It will probably be a few days before all the tornadoes are accounted for.

On April 25, an EF3 tornado killed an infant near Chocowinty, North Carolina.

Yes, they can but they usually dissipate rapidly when they do.

The first tornado of 2006 did not have a specific name assigned to it. Tornadoes are usually identified by the location and date of occurrence rather than being given individual names.

The anvil is not actually part of a tornado. it is part of the storm that produces a tornado. Inside a thunderstorm moist air rises as long as it is warmer than its surroundings. However, when the rising cloud of the thunderstorm reaches a comparatively warm layers such as at the top of the troposphere it cannot rise any more, and will spread out, forming a wide, flat top to the storm cloud. This flat top is the anvil.

Tornadoes can vary greatly in size, with most being around 100-600m wide and staying on the ground for a few minutes to an hour. The largest tornadoes, known as "wedge" tornadoes, can be over 1 mile wide and stay on the ground for an extended period of time.

The tri- state tornado formed in Ellington Missouri, then moved to Illinois and Indiana. It killed 695 people, and is rated number 1 in the top 25 deadly twisters.

Greensburg, Kansas was struck by an EF5 tornado on May 4, 2007.

Tornadoes can form almost anywhere, but some areas get them far more often than others. Some locations, such as Tanner, Alabama have been hit multiple times.

There are six levels on the Enhanced Fujita scale ranging from EF0 to EF5.

It varies widely. Some tornadoes stay in open fields and cause not damage. Weak tornadoes (EF0 or EF1) cause minor to moderate damage, damaging roofs, breaking windows, and overturning trailers.

The most violent tornadoes (EF4 or EF5) are devastating. Well built houses are completely demolished. In some cases entire neighborhoods can be flattened. Damage can be in the hundreds of millions of dollars with some exceeding $1 billion.

Any state in the us can have a semi tornado. Arizona doesn't typically get tornadoes but it is possible. The biggest tornadoes occur in states such as Texas Oklahoma Kansas Nebraska missuri and Arkansas

Yes, most notably the northwest area of Pennsylvania saw an unusually high number of tornadoes. Among these tornadoes was an EF0 tornado that struck Presque Isle State Park near Erie on June 27.

Tornadoes are sometimes given unofficial names for the places they hit.

For example, a few famous tornadoes are known as the Moore, Oklahoma tornado (1999), the Wichita Falls Texas tornado (1979), and the Waco, Texas tornado (1953).