Tornadoes

They have some similarties, but there are also major differences. Both hurricanes and tornadoes are violent storms with winds that rotate around a center of low pressure. Both can be deadly and very destructive. However, they operate on completely different scales. A hurricane is a large-scale self-sustaining storm system while a tornado is a small-scale vortex dependent on a parent thunderstorm. Hurricanes produce substantial flooding through rain and storm surge, while a tornado is entirely a wind phenomenon.

a goldfish

Tornado damage has traditionally been rated on the Fujita scale. However, the United States and Canada now rate tornado damage on the similar Enhanced Fujita scale.

Tornado season in the Midwest typically occurs during late spring and early summer, from April to June. This is when warm, moist air from the south meets cooler air from the north, creating the conditions for tornadoes to form.

It varies. Some tornadoes stay in open fields or only impact trees and so cause no property damage. Weak tornadoes (EF0 and EF1) often cause damage in the tens of thousands of dollars, and on rare occasions in to the millions.

Strong to violent tornadoes (EF2-EF5) may cause damage ranging from the hundreds of thousands of dollars to the tens of millions.

Some of the worst tornadoes have caused damage in the hundreds of millions of dollars, with a handful topping $1 billion.

Yes, some people have survived tornadoes by seeking shelter in basements, storm shelters, or interior rooms of sturdy buildings. It is important to take tornado warnings seriously and have a plan in place to stay safe in the event of severe weather.

To date, no town in Texas has been hit by two F5 tornadoes. Worth mentioning, though is the town of Wichita Falls, Texas. It was hit by an F5 tornado on April 3, 1964 and an F4 tornado on April 10, 1979. The second tornado is the more famous of the two and is incorrectly believed by some to have been an F5.

To minimize damage caused by a tornado, it is important to have a plan in place, such as creating a tornado emergency kit and identifying a safe room or shelter in your home. Stay informed by monitoring weather alerts and seek shelter immediately when warnings are issued. Regularly maintain your property by securing loose outdoor items and reinforcing windows and doors to make them more resistant to high winds.

In the past 5 years tornadoes in the U.S. have killed 744 people and caused over $15 billion dollars worth of damage. Most of this ocurred as a result of the devastating tornadoes of 2011, which claimed 553 lives and cost approximately $10 billion.

Yes, tornadoes are most likely to form during the late afternoon and evening hours, typically between 3 pm and 9 pm. This time frame is when atmospheric conditions are most conducive to the formation of severe thunderstorms, which can spawn tornadoes.

Tornadoes do not bring fronts. Fronts, under the right conditions, create thunderstorms, which in turn can sometimes produce tornadoes. Tornadoes are most often associated with cold fronts, but are also not uncommon along dry lines. Warm fronts may also result in tornadoes, but it is fairly rare. Still other tornadoes may not be associated with any fronts at all.

Tornadoes often develop along cold fronts, but are not a direct product of them. Rather, tornadoes form from the thunderstorms that develop along some cold fronts. Dry lines have even more potential to produce tornadic storms, but are less common in most regions. In rarer cases, tornadoes may be associated with warm fronts. On spot that is conducive to the formation of tornadoes is Larko's triangle, an area between a warm front and cold front near where they meet at the center of a low pressure system.

No. Precipitation is water that falls from the sky in some form, such as rain, snow, or hail. A tornado is basically a violent wind storm. While tornadoes are usually accompanied by rain and often by hail, this precipitation is not directly related to the tornado itself.

Most tornadoes occur in so-called Tornado Alley because the weather "converges" there to make for a much higher probability that they will form in that location. Use the link below to see a map that "shows the weather" responsible for many of these beasts. This will tell you with a picture what would take a couple of paragraphs to explain.

a tornado is not a gas, it is a mixture of the three states of matter solid, liquid and gas.

Largely by coincidence, the most tornado-prone area in the world, the Great Plains is also a very flat area. However, the hills of Tennessee and northern Alabama are also quite prone to tornadoes.

Tornadoes are most common in spring and least common in winter. Since autumn and spring are transitional periods (warm to cool and vice versa) there are more chances of cooler air meeting with warmer air, resulting in thunderstorms.

The Joplin, Missouri tornado of 2011 was what is known as a rain-wrapped tornado, meaning it was surrounded by heavy rain. This rain obscured the tornado from view and may have contributed to the extremely high death toll.

Tornadoes are not part of a hurricane, but they can happen during a hurricane. Tornadoes in hurricanes tend to be weaker and more short-lived compared to standalone tornadoes, and they form under different conditions. They are often associated with landfalling hurricanes and occur as a result of the intense weather patterns within the storm.

A tornado itself does not cause explosions. However, a tornado's strong winds can damage infrastructure such as gas lines or electrical equipment, leading to the potential for explosions if these systems are compromised.

Tornadoes are most likely to occur in the United States during the spring months of April, May, and June. However, tornadoes can occur throughout the year with some regions experiencing a secondary peak in tornado activity during the fall months.

A large swirl shaped cloud formation is typically called a cyclone or a tropical storm/hurricane, depending on its location and intensity. These formations are characterized by strong winds circulating around a center of low pressure, and they can bring heavy rainfall and potentially destructive weather conditions.

Ecuador experiences very few tornadoes due to its geographical location and climate. Tornadoes are rare in the country, with only a handful reported in the last century.

The scale used to identify the severity of a tornado is called the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale. It ranges from EF0 (weakest) to EF5 (strongest) based on the tornado's estimated wind speeds and resultant damage.

Tornadoes are often associated with frontal boundaries, particularly with severe weather outbreaks. When warm, moist air collides with cool, dry air along a frontal boundary, it can create the conditions necessary for tornado formation. The lifting of warm air by the front can lead to the development of strong updrafts and rotating thunderstorms, increasing the likelihood of tornadoes.