Tornadoes

Indirectly, tornadoes destroy wildlife habitats (i.e. by uprooting trees, etc) and destroy whole ecosytems and foodchains. Directly, if a tornado is strong enough it can pick up wildlife, which would kill the animal. However, it is mostly indirectly that tornadoes can affect wildlife.

Since the density of the air in a tornado is reduced by the pressure drop the overall concentration of oxygen is lower than it would normally be. Some estimates indicate that in the very largest tornadoes (which have the largest pressure drops) may have as little as 70% the normal amount of air and thus oxygen.

It depends on the strength of the tornado. For example, all but the weakest structures will stand up to an EF0 tornado.

At the other end, virtually nothing can with stand the full force of an EF5 tornado. Some structures that can withstand such a storm include reactor cores in nuclear power plants, rooms built into some buildings to protect from tornadoes, and most underground structures.

You should never run into a tornado. Even a weak tornado can lift a person off the ground. However, two teams of scientists have created special armored vehicles to to inside of tornadoes. Others have put probes with cameras inside of tornadoes. Because of all th dust that tornadoes normally pick up there really isn't much to see.

The last recorded tornado in Killeen, Texas, occurred on May 27, 1997. This tornado was rated as an F2 on the Fujita scale, causing damage in the area. Since then, there have been no reported tornadoes in Killeen.

The deadliest tornado to hit Florida in the past 10 years was the Deland, Florida EF3 tornado of February 2, 2007. This tornado killed 13 people.

Both pressures create storms. The movement of air from high pressure to low pressure causes water to condense and form clouds. When the clouds become oversaturated they release water which falls to the ground as rain, snow, or hail. The lightning is caused when the different charges of the ground and cloud cause the electrons to move to equalize it. This electron movement is lightning. The high winds are from various processes including cold air being pulled down by precipitation (called a downburst or microburst), by pressure gradients around a mesocyclone (which causes a rear flank downdraft or RFD). Tornadoes are formed by the tightening and intensification of a mesocyclone.

The vast majority of storms, however, are associated with or are themselves low pressure systems.

Yes, Rockdale, TX is generally considered to be part of Tornado Alley. Tornado Alley is a region in the central United States where tornadoes are more frequent due to environmental conditions that favor tornado formation. Rockdale's location in Texas falls within this area known for tornado activity.

Usually masonry walls fare better than wood and drywall construction. Avoid houses wild gabled roofs as those are more easily torn off. It is also good to see if it has anchor bolts to better secure the house to its foundation. Hurricane ties in the roof structure are also recommended, and can be installed later if your house doesn't already have them. New houses are usually better than old ones as houses tend to weaken with age.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, make sure you can get underground either in a basement or a cellar on the property.

When the tornado hits collapsing buildings and flying debris from damaged structures can be lethal or cause serious injury.

After a tornado power can be knocked out for days or weeks. Homes and businesses not completely destroyed may still be damaged beyond repair, leaving many without a home or workplace. For some the cost of repairs or rebuilding is too much, leading to financial difficulties. Farmers may also suffer losses from destroyed crops.

Yes, tornadoes can form in flat terrain, but they are most commonly associated with regions where there are changes in elevation. Flat terrain can still produce tornadoes if other conditions are favorable, such as a strong cold front or intense thunderstorms.

A tornadologist is a scientist who studies tornadoes and other types of severe weather phenomena. They typically specialize in meteorology, climatology, or atmospheric science to better understand the formation, behavior, and impact of tornadoes. Their research aims to improve forecasting techniques and mitigate the risks associated with tornadoes.

Tornado Alley is a term generally used to describe an area in the central United States where tornadoes are most frequent. While Kentucky is not typically considered part of Tornado Alley, it can still experience tornadoes due to its location in the Midwest. Tornadoes can occur throughout the state, but typically are more common in western and central Kentucky.

Adverbs commonly used in discussion of tornadoes include: rapidly, slowly, briefly, explosively, suddenly.

The fastest wind on earth occur in tornadoes, which have been known to have wind speeds in excess of 300 mph (480 km/h), far faster than anything a hurricane can produce.

A supercell is a powerful thunderstorm with a strong, rotating updraft called a mesocyclone. They don't so much develop into tornadoes as they produce them. How they do this is not fully understood, but it is believed that moist of the time a downdraft called a rear-flank downdraft or RFD wraps around the bottom part of the mesocyclone, tightening and intensifying it to form a tornado.

Tornadoes do not occur in Miami every year. Since 1950 Miami has had 27 tornadoes, which suggests an average of a little less than 1 tornado every 2 years.

It is difficult to directly compare the two, as the impact of volcanoes and tornadoes can vary greatly depending on various factors such as location and intensity. However, on average, tornadoes tend to cause more frequent destruction each year than volcanic eruptions due to the higher occurrence of tornadoes around the world.

Although tornadoes can cause wind erosion, but are usually not major contributors as exposure to tornadic winds is usually brief. Tornadoes are better described as natural disasters due to their destructive impacts on developed areas.

Answer

The original F-scale developed and introduced by Dr. T. Theodore Fujita was a damage scale for winds, including tornadoes, which was supposed to relate the degree of damage to the intensity of the wind. This scale was the result. The original F-scale should not be used anymore, because it has been replaced by an enhanced version. Tornado wind speeds are still largely unknown; and the wind speeds on the original F-scale have never been scientifically tested and proven. Different winds may be needed to cause the same damage depending on how well-built a structure is, wind direction, wind duration, battering by flying debris, and a bunch of other factors. Also, the process of rating the damage itself is largely a judgment call -- quite inconsistent and arbitrary (Doswell and Burgess, 1988). Even meteorologists and engineers highly experienced in damage survey techniques often came up with different F-scale ratings for the same damage. Even with all its flaws, the original F-scale was the only widely used tornado rating method for over three decades. The enhanced F-scale took effect 1 February 2007.

The Enhanced F-scale is a much more precise and robust way to assess tornado damage than the original. It classifies F0-F5 damage as calibrated by engineers and meteorologists across 28 different types of damage indicators (mainly various kinds of buildings, but also a few other structures as well as trees). The idea is that a "one size fits all" approach just doesn't work in rating tornado damage, and that a tornado scale needs to take into account the typical strengths and weaknesses of different types of construction. This is because the same wind does different things to different kinds of structures. In the Enhanced F-scale, there will be different, customized standards for assigning any given F rating to a well built, well anchored wood-frame house compared to a garage, school, skyscraper, unanchored house, barn, factory, utility pole or other type of structure. In a real-life tornado track, these ratings can be mapped together more smoothly to make a damage analysis. Of course, there still will be gaps and weaknesses on a track where there was little or nothing to damage, but such problems will be less common than under the original F-scale. As with the original F-scale, the enhanced version will rate the tornado as a whole based on most intense damage within the path. There are no plans to systematically re-evaluate historical tornadoes using the Enhanced F-scale. http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/index.html To See the Complete Scale and comparison see this link. http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/ef-scale.html To Learn More about Tornados see these links TORNADO INFORMATION

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/tstorms/tornado.htm

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/

http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/faq/faq_tor.php

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/jetstream/tstorms/tstorms_intro.htm

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/jetstream/tstorms/tornado.htm

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/

http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/faq/faq_tor.php

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/tornado/wtfaq.htm

http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/00758/en/disaster/tornado.html

http://www.hubbard.lib.oh.us/tornado/tornado_faqs.htm

http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/

http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/hazard/

Tornado Climatology

http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/briefings/vol2_no3/new_findings.htmlTornados and El Nino / La Nina

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/publications/schaefer/el_nino.htm

Tornadoes are not given names. Hurricanes and tropical storms are given names to help keep track of them and to remember significant storms. Names are assigned from a predetermined alphabetical list.

Tornadoes usually form over land due to temperature and moisture differences in the atmosphere. The coastal regions of the United States typically have more stable atmospheric conditions and are influenced by the moderating effects of the nearby ocean, which makes it less conducive for tornado formation.

A tornado is a violently rotating column of air with powerful winds that can cause damage. The winds can vary greatly in strength. In some cases they may cause damage some roofs and knock down a few trees, perhaps lifting some shingles and twigs.

In a stronger tornado whole roofs may be torn off and sections of wooded areas flattened. Large objects such as roofs and even cars may briefly become airborne.

In the strongest tornadoes well-built houses will be completely destroyed, some possibly wiped clean of their foundations. Very large objects such as houses, train cars, and heavy construction equipment may be carried significant distance.

For information on how tornadoes form, see the related question below.

A tornado can be compared to a vacuum cleaner because both create a powerful, swirling force that can cause significant damage in their path.