What is a tornado? Everything you need to know about these storms
- The United States experiences about 80% to 90% of all tornadoes that occur worldwide.
- The National Severe Storms Laboratory says about 1,200 tornadoes make landfall in the US each year.
- Tornadoes are rated from EF-0 (light damage) to EF-5 (stagger damage) based on a list of damage stats.
A tornado is “a narrow, violently rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground,” according to National Severe Storm Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma. But because wind is invisible, a tornado is hard to see unless it forms a funnel made up of water droplets, dust, and debris.
Although the words of the definitions may differ, there is one constant: For a phenomenon to be classified as a tornado, it must be in contact with the ground and a thunderstorm cloud at the same time, Storm Forecast Center speak.
If there is no ground contact, it is simply called a funnel cloud.
Tornadoes, possibly one of the most intense of all atmospheric storms on Earth, are most common in the United States. In fact, each year, “the United States experiences about 80% to 90% of all tornadoes occurring worldwide,” Randy Cervenya professor of geography at Arizona State University.
The National Severe Storms Laboratory says about 1,200 tornadoes make landfall in the US each year.
Tornadoes are capable of completely destroying fine constructions, uprooting trees and throwing airborne objects such as deadly rockets, National Weather Service speak.
When is tornado season?
Experts say tornadoes can happen at any time of the year.
However, peak tornado season in the Southern Plains (Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas) is from May through early June, NOAA said. And along the Gulf Coast, it is earlier in the spring. In the Northern Plains and upper West West (North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota), tornado season is in June or July.
Overall, there is a general northward shift in tornado season in the United States from late winter to midsummer.
Tornadoes can also occur at any time of the day or night, but most tornadoes occur between 4-9 p.m.
What causes tornadoes? And how do tornadoes form?
According to the Hurricane Forecast Center, the classic answer – “warm Gulf air meets cold Canadian air and dry air from the Rockies” – is an oversimplification. Most thunderstorms that form under those conditions never form a tornado.
“The truth is we don’t fully understand it,” said the National Severe Storms Laboratory. “The most destructive tornadoes that occur from supercells are revolving thunderstorms with a well-defined radar cycle known as the mesocyclone.” Supercells can also produce damaging hail, severe non-cyclonic winds, occasional lightning, and flash floods.
How do you prepare for a tornado?
As the National Weather Service says, be “weather aware” by having a smartphone or NOAA weather radio ready to receive warnings of impending hazardous weather. You should also have a family plan that includes emergency meeting locations and related information. If you live in a mobile home or home without a basement, locate a nearby safe building that you can get to quickly, such as a church or a family member’s home.
What should I do during a tornado? How do I survive a tornado?
If you are at home during a tornado warning, go to a basement, safe, or inside room away from windows. If you are outside, seek shelter inside a fortified building immediately if a tornado is approaching.
If you are in a vehicle, it is best to drive to the nearest shelter. If you cannot reach a safe haven, get off the vehicle and cover your head or leave the vehicle and seek shelter in a low-lying area such as a ditch or ravine.
What is the Advanced Fujita Scale? What are the different types of a tornado?
Advanced Fujita Scale, named after legendary tornado researcher Ted Fujita, is a scale that measures the strength of a tornado based on the damage it causes. Unlike hurricanes, which are based on the storm’s wind speed as it progresses, tornadoes are assessed only after they have passed over an area.
Tornadoes are rated from EF-0 (mild damage) to EF-5 (incredible damage) based on a list of damage stats and extent of damage, which helps to estimate the range of wind speeds that tornadoes can reach. tornadoes can create, the National Weather Service said.
What is the difference between a tornado alarm and a tornado warning?
A clock with a tornado means that the weather conditions are ripe to form a tornado. Alert means a warning has been detected or indicated on the radar.
Clocks released by the Hurricane Forecast Center for tornado-prone counties. Clock regions are often large, encompassing multiple counties or even states.
Warnings are issued by a local Weather Service office, which usually covers a much smaller area (about the size of a city or small county) that could be affected by a tornado identified by: a forecaster on radar or by a trained monitor or law enforcement official who is monitoring the storm.
There is also a relatively new category: Tornado emergencies are reserved for situations that the weather agency considers “extremely rare” where a serious threat to human life and damage occurs. catastrophic damage from an impending or ongoing tornado.
Preferably people in these areas have gathered in safer places. Visual confirmation from reliable sources or a tornado indication from radar images is also required for emergency tornado warnings.