Tornadoes

The F-scale, or Fujita scale, helped scientists study tornado intensity by providing a way to categorize tornadoes based on the damage they caused. By analyzing the damage pattern caused by tornadoes of different intensities, scientists were able to better understand the characteristics and behavior of tornadoes and improve their forecasting and warning systems.

It is estimated that the Tri-state tornado destroyed approximately 15,000 homes, which would have accounted for the majority of the buildings destroyed.

Tornadoes and earthquakes kill animals the same way they kill people. Tornadoes kill with objects carried, dropped, or knocked over by their winds and by picking up and throwing the victims themselves. Earthquakes kill by collapsing buildings, knocking objects over, and triggering landslides.

It would be highly unusual for a tornado to strike an area where there is snow on the ground. Tornadoes generally occur during periods of warm weather. If such an event were to occur it would be little different from a tornado striking under ordinary circumstances. The tornado would likely lift some snow into the air, but that would be of little to no consequence compared with the damage tornadoes usually inflict.

Meteorologists use various techniques to measure tornado wind speeds, such as Doppler radar, damage surveys, or remote sensing instruments. By analyzing these data and environmental conditions, they can estimate the wind speeds of a tornado. Additionally, tornado wind speeds are often inferred based on the damage pattern left behind, as the Enhanced Fujita Scale correlates damage severity with wind speeds.

How long a tornado is over a given location varies depending on how wide the tornado is and how fast it is moving. You can calculate this fairly simply. Once you have the values converted to compatible units (e.g. width in meters and speed in meters/second) you simply divide the width of the tornado by its forward speed to get how long it is over a location.

A typical tornado is about 50 yards (45 meters) wide and moves at 30 mph (13 m/s).

Such a tornado would be over a given spot for about 3.5 seconds.

By contrast, a mile (1,600 meter) wide tornado moving at the same speed would be over a location for 2 minutes.

You can usually expect some degree of damage to vegetation and man-made structures. The severity of the damage can vary widely, ranging from minor damage to roof surfaces to the complete destruction of entire neighborhoods. Damage from tornadoes is localized, extending along a path that is usually no more than a few hundred yards wide, though damage paths well over a mile wide do occur. Because they are much narrower than other storms, tornadoes usually do not affect any one spot for more than a few seconds before moving on, but large or slow moving tornadoes will impact areas for longer. You can generally expect a tornado warning to be issued a few minutes in advance.

There were several major tornado outbreaks in the US in April 2011, but you are most likely referring to the catastrophic outbreak of April 25-28 with most of the damage on April 27. Reliable sources are hard to come by. One article states that approximately 6,200 homes were destroyed in Alabama alone. Alabama suffered about $4.3 billion of the approximately $4.8 billion in damage from the outbreak. If we assume all of these figures are accurate and that the ratio of cost to homes destroyed remains about the same, then we can arrive at a very rough estimate of about 6,900 homes destroyed.

It is not known. Only four storm chasers have ever been killed by a tornado, and all of them were killed in the same event in 2013. One fatal event does not provide enough datato calculate the probability of dying, though it does appear that the chance is very small.

Because tornadoes are actually produced by severe thunderstorms. Therefore, anytime you're dealing with a severe thunderstorm, you have to be alert for the potential of it producing a tornado. Tornadoes are the most dangerous type of event a thunderstorm can produce.

Tornadoes occur in the lower atmosphere, specifically in the troposphere, which is the lowest layer of the atmosphere where weather events typically occur. Hurricanes occur slightly higher up in the troposphere, usually in the lower part of the troposphere where the conditions are conducive for their formation.

No. A tornado is made almost entirely of air. The funnel of a tornado is made visible by droplets of liquid water, but those droplets would not make up more than 1-2% of the tornado's mass and an even smaller portion of its volume.

Over time most places on earth experience tornadoes. However for a long time Antarctica has ntmoved from the south pole and being there, it may be that there has not been enough localized heat to form a tornado. However it would be difficult to prove this.

Tornadoes can in fact occur almost anywhere and are not uncommon in other parts of the US amd the world. The Great Plains of the United States have an ideal climate setup. Warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico meets cool air from Canada and dry air from the Rockies, leading to the potential for severe thunderstorms. Wind shear, or differences in wind speed and direction with altitude then set these storms rotating, turning them into supercells. These storms are the ones with the greatest potential to produce tornadoes. In short, the Great Plains have an ideal climate setup not just for tornadoes, but for the strong tornadoes that make major headlines. Additionally, unlike some other areas where tornadoes are common, the United States is a wealthy, technologically advanced country capable of keeping detailed reports of tornadoes. Some other countries are not so good at keeping track of tornadoes.

Antarctica is the only continent that has never had a typhoon or tornado. Its extremely cold climate and lack of significant landmass suitable for the formation of such weather events make it highly unlikely for them to occur there.

I think is Alaska Hawaii and Puerto Rico bicause Alaska doesn't have hot air and tornado does need hot air. Hawaii and Puerto Rico are bicause most of the tornados accure over water (waterspout)

Tornadoes can cause significant damage to the landscape by uprooting trees, flattening buildings, and tossing debris over great distances. The strong winds and flying debris can strip vegetation, erode soil, and alter the topography of the affected area.

The intensity of tornadoes is rated on the Enhanced Fujita scale based on the severity of the damage they cause. There are six levels that fall into three general groups. EF0 and EF1 tornadoes are referred to as "weak," EF2 and EF3 tornadoes are "strong" and EF4 and EF5 tornadoes are "violent." The use of the word "weak" to refer to some tornadoes is a relative term, as they are not as strong as other tornadoes, but can still cause damage with estimated winds of up to 110 mph.

Yes. When a tornado forms, hot and cold air come together. They spiral around each other at a great speed, which is known as torsion.

The most common rating for a tornado is EF0, accounting for almost 60% of tornadoes in the U.S. The higher the rating, the less often it occurs.

A tornado watch is issued where general conditions across a region will favorable for the formation of tornadoes over the next few hours. Such an advisory does not indicate an imminent tornado threat for any given location; that would warrant a tornado warning.

Tornado sirens are typically turned off after the threat of a tornado has passed or when it is no longer necessary to warn people of immediate danger. This helps prevent confusion and panic among residents in the area.

The highest Fujita rating for a tornado is F5, which represents winds of 261-318 mph (419-512 km/h). F5 tornadoes are considered to be the most powerful and destructive, capable of causing catastrophic damage.