Tornados |
| Tornadoes are very dangerous, and kill lives every year. There are many facts that support taking safety precautions when experiencing a tornado. There are many deadly tornados that have been recorded, and there will be many more tornados in our future. Tornados are rated on a system called an f-scale. Tornados start off as Thunderstorms. Once the thunderstorm is active a tornado can form, by hitting warm, tropical and moist air. Although tornados happen around he globe, the most common place in the United States is in Tornado Alley. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| More about Midwest | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| When signs of a tornado come, you should be prepared. People are killed every year by Tornados because they are unaware that a tornado is approaching. If the tornado is coming toward your house, the basement or a small room without windows is the best place to take shelter. Make sure the whole family knows to go there. At schools, 1st floor rooms are a good place to be. Avoid any glass windows. Crouch down as to make yourself little of a “target”. If you are in a car, get yourself out and find shelter. Many people are killed trying to outrun a tornado. Following these safety rules, you will decrease your chances of being a victim. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| There have been many deadly tornados in the past. One of our deadliest tornados is called the Tri-State Tornado. It took place on March 18, 1925. It rushed through Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois. The ground speed was 60-73 mph, and it killed nearly 695 people. Another deadly tornado was on April of 1974. This tornado and lasted 2 days. It killed 308 people and included 148 tornados and struck 13 states. This event was named the Super Outbreak. The biggest tornado recorded was in Hallam, Nebraska. This Tornado occurred in May of 2004. The width was about 2 ½ miles long. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| More about Louisiana | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| All tornados are rated on a system called the F-scale. A man named Dr. T Theodore Fujita invented it in 1971. The F-scale is determined by the damage done from the tornado. The ratings are as follows: F0, F1, F2, F3, F4, and F5. 74% of our tornados from 1950-1994 have been fairly weak, rating from F0-F1. 25% are strong. (F2-F3) Only 1% of our tornados are violent. (F4-F5) The F-scale is not exact and and attempts to approximate the ground speed of a Tornado. There are over 1,000 tornados to rate every year. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| A tornado usually occurs off of a thunderstorm. There are different types of thunderstorms. There is the Single Cell Storm, The Multi-cell Cluster Storm, The Squall Line Storm, and The Super-cell Storm. The Single Cell Storm is quite rare and is not strong enough to make tornados or any severe weather. The Multi-cell Cluster Storm is the most common. It produces weak tornados, just like The Squall Line Storm. The Squall Line Storm also generates golf-ball sized hail, and heavy rainfall. Lastly, is the Super-cell Storm. The Super-cell Storm contributes the most violent tornados. These thunderstorms make our best tornados. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| More about Ohio | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| A tornado forms when cold, dry polar air meets warm and moist tropical air. The atmosphere is unstable. When the tropical, warm, moist wind hits the dry polar air, it forces the storm to start swirling and shape a funnel. This funnel spins faster and faster. This structures a very low-pressure area, which sucks more air into it and possibly some objects. This is how all tornados form. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| There are many different places where tornados transpire. In the United States, the most common found place that develops tornados is called Tornado Alley. Tornado Alley stretches from Louisiana, and goes north to North Dakota. On the way, it touches ¾ of Texas and almost all of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. There have been some tornados even in places such as Huntington Beach, California. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tornados happen all the time. When they do, you need to be prepared. Tornados start off as thunderstorms. This includes The Super-cell Storm. After the Thunderstorm has started, the tornado forms when the dry polar air hits moist tropical air. It may not be common to see tornados in places like California. Most of them happen in Tornado Alley which is located in the Midwest of the United States. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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F-Scale
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This article was written by Kailani and edited by The Trade Federation Information Team copyright - all rights reserved Information Sources: 1. www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/Atmosphere/tornado/formation.html 2. www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Lab/2430/torform.html 3. Dwyer Library, Huntington Beach Image Sources: 1. mypage.bluewin.ch/klipsi/tornadoes.htm 2. www.nssl.noaa.gov/NWSTornado 3. artweld.blogs.com/bluesloth/images/tornado-thumb.jpg |
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