TORNADOES
G'day folks,
Many of my American friends will relate to this post. So, what is a tornado? A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that rotates while
in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud
or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud.
Although tornadoes can happen at any time of year, they are especially common during the
spring and early summer. May and June are the peak months in terms of numbers
of tornadoes, but April appears to be the deadliest month. Two of the all-time
worst tornado disasters occurred in April. On April 3-4, 1974, 148 twisters
struck 13 states, causing more than 300 deaths, and on April 27, 2011, 137
reported tornadoes swept through the south, killing nearly 300 people in six
states. Most of the fatalities occurred in Alabama. May holds the record for
experiencing the most tornadoes. In May 2003, there were 543 recorded
tornadoes. On average, 60 people die each year as a result of tornadoes, mostly
from flying and falling debris.
What Is a Tornado?
A tornado
is a dark funnel-shaped cloud made up of violently rotating winds that can
reach speeds of up to 300 m.p.h. The diameter of a tornado can vary between a
few feet and a mile, and its track can extend from less than a mile to several
hundred miles. Tornadoes generally travel in a northeast direction (depending
on the prevailing winds) at speeds ranging from 20-60 m.p.h.
What Causes a Tornado?
Tornadoes
are most often spawned by giant thunderstorms known as "supercells."
These powerful, highly organized storms form when warm, moist air along the
ground rushes upward, meeting cooler, drier air. As the rising warm air cools,
the moisture it carries condenses, forming a massive thundercloud, sometimes
growing to as much as 50,000 ft. in height. Variable winds at different levels
of the atmosphere feed the updraft and cause the formation of the tornado's
characteristic funnel shape.
Where Do Tornadoes Occur?
The
conditions that lead to the formation of tornadoes are most often met in the
central and southern U.S., where warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico
collides with cool, dry air from the Rockies and Canada. This area, dubbed
"tornado alley," extends roughly from the Rocky Mountains to the
Appalachians, and from Iowa and Nebraska to the Gulf of Mexico. Tornadoes can
also occur elsewhere, though, including all U.S. states, Europe, Asia, and
Australia.
What Kind of Destruction Do Tornadoes Cause?
The Fujita scale classifies tornadoes
according to the damage they cause. Almost half of all tornadoes fall into the
F1 or "moderate damage" category. These tornadoes reach speeds of
73-112 m.p.h. and can overturn automobiles and mobile homes, rip off the roofs
of houses, and uproot trees. Only about 1 percent of tornadoes are classified as
F5, causing "incredible damage." With wind speeds in excess of 261
m.p.h., these tornadoes are capable of lifting houses off their foundations and
hurling them considerable distances.
Clancy's comment: It sounds crazy, but I'd love to be up close and personal so I could take some good photographs.
I'm ...
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