Tornadoes

A tornado can cause damage that you do not want to see. It can destroy animals' habitats and kill plants by uprooting trees and destroying flowers. A tornado could break your home or vehicle! A tornado damages everything in its path.

In the past, when wood and coal-burning stoves were common, fires would often occur. Fires can still occasionally start from broken gas lines, but usually do not spread far. As with any disaster, there can be small disease outbreaks from infected wounds, though this is limited by modern medicine.

That is impossible to predict.

No smoking or equipment that could provide a spark for ignition.

There are three types of air needed to cause a tornado. The plains of the United States are uniquely suited to bring all these ingredients together. The main factors are Rocky Mountains to the west, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and a terrain that slopes downward from west to east.

The Fujita scale (now the Enhanced Fujita scale) which goes from F0 to F5 (EF0 to EF5).

1925. There were 794 tornado deaths in the U.S. that year, 695 from a single tornado.

The main positive effect of the May 3, 1999 F5 tornado was a new type of unofficial weather advisory: the tornado emergency. A tornado emergency is more urgent than an ordinary tornado warning. It means that a large and potentially very destructive tornado is threatening a populated area. One case of a tornado emergency's effectiveness was on May 4, 2007 when an EF5 tornado destroyed 95% of Greensburg, Kansas. Despite this the death toll was limited to 11. Countless more lives had been saved.

Environmental problem

A strong tornado is one that is EF2 or stronger. A violent tornado is one that is EF4 or EF5.

Anywhere in the world...but only under certain circumstances.

Tornadoes can occur anywhere in the world and at anytime with given favorable conditions, except in Antarctica. True Tornadoes do not occur here.

Tornadoes can and usually originate from supercell thunderstorms that contain a mesocyclone. A mesocyclone is a horizontal whirling air mass within the cumulonimbus(Cb) cloud. The warm air updraft can push the mesocyclone to a vertical position. The storm relative helicity has an important role in the tornadoes development and strength. The rear flank down draft helps to push the mesocyclone down and soon what appears at the base of the cumuliform cloud (which is most likely a rotating wall cloud) is a funnel cloud forming. The funnel cloud is NOT a tornado until it makes contact with the earth. Several things may be taking place as the funnel is slowly descending (not all funnels descend slowly, some do some don't. Some have difficulty in forming and pull back into the cloud). The sky may change color, it can be black or a greenish color, usually signs that a tornado is in its forming stages, but is not always a guarantee. There will be hail, usually quite heavy. A rain-free base of the cumuliform cloud. This is usually the area where the tornado is located. There can be lightning, but some tornadoes have no lightning or very little.

Keeping a watch on the sky, when things don't look good, find out if any severe weather watches have been posted and if they have, follow directions. Even with Doppler radar, a tornado can descend before the tornado vortex signature is seen on radar and that indicates that a mesocyclone has been spotted in a supercell and it is favorable for tornadic development. With Doppler radar, meteorologists say there is about a 7-9 minute window before the tornado comes. You cant depend on that. When the watch is posted, you much take shelter immediately.

It varies. The average lead time for a tornado warning in the United States is 14 minutes. However, in recent years lead times have been as long as 39 minutes, while in other cases there has been no warning.

Tornadoes and lightning are often associated with severe thunderstorms. Lightning can occur before, during, or after a tornado is formed. Tornadoes can form within severe thunderstorms where there is intense updraft and rotation in the atmosphere, which can be fueled by lightning activity.

Tornado strength is typically measured using the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale, which ranges from EF0 (weakest) to EF5 (strongest) based on damage caused. Observations made by trained storm spotters, meteorologists, and damage surveys help determine the tornado's intensity. Advanced technology like Doppler radar and photogrammetry also aid in assessing a tornado's strength.

March 2011

Tornadoes can occur at any time of day or year, but they mostly occur in spring and summer and in the late afternoon or early evening.

There is no such thing as an F7 tornado. Only the categories F0 to F5 have ever been used in practice.

But the difference is in intensity. The Fujita (F) scale rating of a tornado is determined by damage. Each category has a range of wind estimates.

Later these wind estimates wer adjusted for the Enhance Fujita (EF) scale.

F0 tornadoes cause light damage such as removal of shingles and broken tree limbs, with estimated winds of 40-72 mph (EF0 65-85 mph).

F1 tornadoes cause moderate damage, overturning trailers, stripping roofs, and breaking windows, with estimated winds of 73-112 mph (86-110 mph)

F5 tornadoes cause incredible damage, blowing houses clean off their foundations and destroying concrete structures with estimated winds of 261-318 mph (EF5 over 200 mph)

The F7 category was only ever theoretical, with estimated winds of 381-445 mph. But the creator of the Fujita scale himself labeled F6 as "inconceivable" and believed, as do most scientists, that tornadic winds cannot get much higher than 300 mph.

they don't cause the floods directly, but usually there is alot of rain during a tornado so floods can be more common during a tornado

The smallest fragments of an explosion can cause damage over a wide area due to the high velocity at which they are propelled. These fragments carry significant energy and can travel far from the point of detonation, impacting objects and structures in their path. Additionally, the sheer number of fragments generated in an explosion increases the likelihood of widespread damage.

It depends on the intensity of the tornadoes and the construction of the house. Damage can range from minor damage to the outside to complete destruction. Most tornadoes are weak, rated EF0 and EF1.

An EF0 may strip off small sections of roof surface and siding and take down gutters and awnings.

An EF1 may severely strip the roof, break windows, and sometimes break down exterior doors. Houses with weak roof attachments may lose their roofs.

And EF2 will most like remove all or large sections of the roof and some exterior walls may collapse. Some houses may shift off their foundations.

An EF3 will likely destroy exterior and interior walls. Weaker houses may collapse completely.

An EF4 will likely cause complete collapse of the house, though in strong houses a few interior walls may remain standing. Weakly anchored houses may be lifted up and carried some distance.

An EF5 will most likely blow a house clean off its foundation.

As of December 3, 2013 the most recent tornado was an EF2 tornado near Atlantic Beach, North Carolina on November 26. It did not result in any deaths. Most tornadoes do not. The most recent killer tornado was an EF3 that struck Brookport, Illinois on November 17, killing 3. Two other killer tornadoes ocurred earlier that same day, killing 2 people each.

The damage severity in a tornado is determined primarily by wind speed. For example, a tornado with peak winds of 100 mph, even if it is very large, is not going to obliterate well built houses, thought it will cause severe roof damage. By contrast, even a relatively small tornado with peak winds of 250 mph can completely destroy just about any structure.

A large tornado is typically stronger than a small, skinny tornado. The size of a tornado is often an indication of its strength, with wider tornadoes usually having higher wind speeds and causing more damage. However, other factors such as wind speed, duration, and path can also affect a tornado's strength.

Yes. There are six strength categories of tornado on the Enhanced Fujita scale ranging from EF0 at the weakest to EF5 at the strongest.