Tornadoes

The Fujita scale is used to classify tornadoes based on the damage they cause. It ranks tornadoes from F0 (weakest) to F5 (strongest) based on the estimated wind speeds and the extent of damage to structures.

It is usually just called a debris cloud or dust whirl.

No. The winds of a tornado are concentrated in a much smaller area. Typically the winds of a hurricane affect an area a few hundred miles across. By contrast the winds of a tornado usually affect an area less than a quarter of a mile wide and rarely more than a mile.

A waterspout is a column of rotating wind that descends from a cumulus cloud to the ocean or a lake. Waterspouts are similar to tornadoes but form over water. They can be dangerous for boats in the vicinity due to strong winds and rough seas.

Oklahoma is located in an area known as "Tornado Alley" where warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico meets cold, dry air from the Rocky Mountains, creating ideal conditions for tornado formation. The state's flat terrain and geography also contribute to the frequency of tornadoes.

Meteorologists use a variety of information to predict tornadoes, including atmospheric conditions like temperature, humidity, and wind direction. They also use radar data to track storms and look for signs of rotation that could lead to a tornado. Additionally, historical data and computer models are used to help forecast where and when tornadoes may occur.

Big puff clouds are typically referred to as cumulus clouds. These clouds are large, white, and fluffy in appearance, usually forming on fair weather days.

Tornadoes are most common in the US during the spring and early summer months, typically peaking in the late spring. They can form at any time of the year, but are most frequent during this period due to the clash of warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico with colder, drier air from the north.

Cumilonimbus clouds do not form in tornadoes; tornadoes formin in cumulonimbus clouds. A cumulonimbus cloud forms when a warm, moist pocket of air rises and the moisture in it condenses, releasing heat that keeps the air rising. This is what drives any thunderstorm. Under the right conditions, the storm my start to rotate, and this rotation may eventually lead to the formation of a tornado.

A tornado in a bottle is a simple science experiment that demonstrates the formation of a vortex, similar to that of a real tornado, using water and dish soap in a plastic bottle. By swirling the bottle in a circular motion, a mini-tornado is created inside the bottle due to the movement of the liquid. It is a fun and educational way to observe fluid dynamics and turbulence in action.

That is correct. Tornado Alley is a region in the central United States known for its high frequency of tornadoes, extending from Texas to Iowa. This area experiences a large number of tornadoes each year due to the collision of warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico with cold, dry air from Canada.

Tornadoes are less common in the western US due to the region's topography and weather patterns. The presence of mountains and cooler Pacific Ocean temperatures reduce the necessary conditions for tornado formation, such as warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico interacting with cold, dry air. Additionally, the jet stream typically steers storm systems and associated tornadoes more frequently to the central and eastern US.

Tornadoes are highly unpredictable. On a time scale of hours it is possible to determine if a general region is at risk of tornadoes. On a time scale of minutes we can determine if a thundershower might soon produce one.

Rising air is a key factor in tornado formation. If the air is warm, moist, and unstable enough it can cause strong thunderstorms as it rises. Given a few other factors the updraft of a thunderstorm can then produce a tornado.

wall clouds can range from a fraction of a mile up to nearly five miles in diameter, and are normally found in the south or south west (inflow) side of the thunderstorm. when seen from within several miles, many wall clouds exhibit rapid upward motion and cyclonic rotation. however, not all wall clouds rotate. rotating wall clouds usually develop before strong or violent tornadoes, by anywhere from a few minutes up to nearly an hour. wall clouds should be monitored visually for signs of persistent, sustained rotation and/or rapid vertical motion

It is difficult to determine. Some of the earliest accounts of scientific inquiries go back at least as far as the middle of the 1800s. It is possible that scientific accounts were made before them that have been lost or have been hidden in some obscure corner of a library for the past century.

Perhaps the earliest account of a tornado from an actual scientist was one by John James Audubon, of a tornado near the Illinois/Indiana line in 1814. However, Audubon primarily studied birds and was merely present to witness the tornado. A man named James Espy appears to have conducted some study of tornadoes at least as early as 1840. By that time he had developed a hypothesis about tornadoes, which was later proven wrong. The person who may be regarded as the father of the study of tornadoes is John Park Finley, who began his research in 1879.

Yes, Indiana does experience tornadoes. The state typically sees around 20 tornadoes per year, with the peak season occurring in late spring and early summer. Tornadoes can occur throughout the state, with no specific region being immune to them.

There aren't actually more tornadoes now, we're just better at detecting them. Back in 1965 we only had primitive weather radar and did not know where in a storm tornadoes would often form. As a result, we ended up missing most tornadoes of F1 and F0 strength, which we now know account for about 90% of tornadoes in the U.S.

There were more significant (F2 or stronger) tornadoes in 1965 than there have been in any year in the past 39 years, suggesting that 1965 saw more tornado activity than actually occurs today.

Thunderstorms can sometimes produce tornadoes as a result of strong updrafts and wind shear within the storm. Tornadoes are often spawned from supercell thunderstorms, which are large, rotating thunderstorms capable of producing severe weather. However, not all thunderstorms produce tornadoes.

Most tornadoes (about 99%) in the northern hemisphere rotate counterclockwise.

But most in the southern hemisphere rotate clockwise.

Most tornadoes are cyclonic, meaning they rotate counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere. However, a very small percentage of tornadoes are anticyclonic, rotating in the opposite direction.

The worst tornado in U.S. history, the Tri-State tornado of 1925, was on the ground for 3 hours and 29 minutes. The worst in world history, the Daulatput-Saturia tornado of 1989, had a path length of 50 miles but it is not known how long it was on the ground. However, given the path length it was probably on the ground for an hour to two hours.

Yes, tornadoes typically spin counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere due to the rotation of the Earth creating a cyclonic motion in low-pressure systems. In the southern hemisphere, tornadoes spin clockwise due to the Coriolis effect.

Tornadoes were not invented; they are a natural phenomenon.

There is no particular sky color that indicates a tornado is coming. It is often reported that the clouds look green before and during tornado. But this does not necessarily indicate a tornado, nor is it necessary for a tornado to form. The clouds in a tornadic storm may also appear gray or black.