What is a Tornado?

Tornadoes are violent storms that strike as a powerful rotating mixture of wind and thunderstorm
clouds, extending from the clouds to the ground in a funnel shape. They are known to be the most
powerful and destructive atmospheric generated phenomena (wind systems), Twisters are usually
accompanied or preceded by severe thunderstorms and high winds. Hail is also common.

How do Tornadoes form?

This question is one that has not been a bit uncertain among people who study weather, but here is
an explanation that many believe is the closest possible cause of tornadoes.

Tornadoes form when warm, humid air collides with cold, dry air. And they only form when a
thunderstorm has a particular combination of winds so they are simply born out of supercell storms
(Supercell tornadoes are more powerful than those that do not come from supercells). A supercell
storm is a thunderstorm characterized by powerful updrafts. Once a tornado hits the ground, it may
live for as little as a few seconds or as long as three hours.

Air rising in thunderstorms can begin to spin when it's affected by winds blowing it in different
directions. It starts to rise and is pushed to the side by wind. It rises a bit more and is jostled again
by wind moving in another direction. Winds moving in different speeds and directions at different
altitudes cause the rising air to start spinning.

Step 1: Like all storms, tornadoes

begin when the sun heats up the
surface of the land. As the warm, less
heavy air begins to rise, it meets the
colder, heavier air above it. Note that
wind shears make it even easier to
set them off. A wind shear is when
two winds at different levels and
speeds above the ground blow
together in a location.

Step 2: The faster moving air begins

to spin and roll over the slower wind.
As it rolls on, it gathers pace and
grow in size.

Step 3: At this stage, it is an invisible,

horizontal wind spinning and rolling
like a cylinder. As the winds continue
to build up, stronger and more
powerful warm air forces the spinning
winds vertically upward, causing an
updraft.

Step 4: With more warm air rising, the spinning air encounters more updraft. The winds spin faster,
vertically upwards, and gains more momentum.

Step 5: At this stage, the spinning winds, creates a vortex and the wind has enough energy to fuel
itself.

Step 6: The tornado is fully formed now and moving in the direction of the thunderstorm winds.
When the pointed part of the tornado touched the ground from the cloud, it is often referred to as
'touch down' As it moves it rips off things along its patch.

After a while, the funnel shape of the tornado thins out as it reaches the end of its life, looking like a
rope. This is called the rope stage.
Profiles of Tornadoes

There are 6 categories of tornadoes, scaled from F0 up to F5, and is measured with a scale called
The Fujita Tornado Damage Scale Using units F0 to F5, the Fujita scale measures a tornado's
intensity by analyzing the damage a tornado has done and then matching that to the wind speeds
estimated to produce comparable damage. Here are the descriptions, in terms of the damage it
does:

F0—LIGHT: These come as strong winds, with little damage to roofs that are poorly maintained.
These winds can displace light-weight objects such as trash cans. They occur very often, making up
about 60% of the total number of tornadoes in the year.

F1—MODERATE: These make up about 28% of the total number of tornadoes. They cause minor
damage to landscape, young trees, building roofs and break windows. They can displace heavier
objects.

F2—CONSIDERABLE: These make up about 9% of the total number. They break tree branches
and bend trees. They cause considerable damage to property as a result of airborne debris. They
can move and displace a garden shed with poor foundations.

F3— SEVERE: These can uproot trees and break walls of buildings. They can rip off roofs and
cause severe damage. These make up about 3% of the total number of tornadoes, and their
destruction usually make it to the news on TV.

F4—DEVASTATING: These are pretty destructive, as small cars are blown over and displaced.
Well-constructed homes are broken, trees are uprooted and blown away. They carry heavy debris
and destroy anything in its path. They make up only about 1%.

F5 —INCREDIBLE: These make up less than 1% in number. They are so powerful that they flatten
pretty much any structure in its path. Mature trees are left with no branches, others are uprooted
and blown away, and automobiles are significantly blown away and displaced.

The average twister is about 660 feet (200 meters) wide and moves about 30 miles (50 kilometers)
an hour. Most don't travel more than six miles (ten kilometers) before dying out.

Massive tornadoes, however—the ones capable of widespread destruction and many deaths—can
roar along as fast as 300 miles (480 kilometers) an hour.

How Are Tornadoes Forecasted?

Meteorologists at the U.S. National Weather Service use Doppler radar, satellites, weather
balloons, and computer modeling to watch the skies for severe storms and tornadic activity.

Doppler radars record wind speeds and identify areas of rotation within thunderstorms. Since
Doppler radar has been in use, the warning time for tornadoes has grown from fewer than five
minutes in the 1980s to an average of 13 minutes today.

When weather conditions are conducive for tornado formation, the National Weather Service issues
a tornado watch. When a tornado has been sighted or indicated on radar, a tornado warning is
issued.

Where do they form?

Because a tornado is part of a severe convective storms, they

occur all over the Earth. However, some parts of the world are
much more prone to tornadoes than others. Globally, the middle
latitudes, between about 30° and 50° North or South, provide the
most favorable environment for tornadogenesis. In terms of
absolute tornado counts, the United States leads the list, with an
average of over 1,000 tornadoes recorded each year.
There are some places in the USA, such as Oklahoma, Northern Texas, Nebraska, Kansas and
Eastern Colorado (Particularly from the middle belt extending to the east coast), that has more
tornado visits that other parts of the USA. The nickname for this belt is called Tornado Alley.

In this area, known as Tornado Alley, storms are caused when dry cold air moving south from
Canada meets warm moist air traveling north from the Gulf of Mexico. Tornado incidents are
distributed all year through, forming particularly in late spring (March), with the most incidents
occurring in the summer (May and June), and reducing in numbers and strengths in the fall.

Every year, there is an average of 800 tornadoes that hit various parts of the USA. Even though
many of them are very mild and could be seen as just strong winds, there has been a few
tornadoes that have been very devastating and flattened many homes, schools and structures
along its path.

The impact of Tornados

Like all natural disasters, they end up with massive destruction to homes, property, infrastructure
and cause many deaths as well. Each year, about 60 people are killed by tornadoes, mostly from
airborne debris. This means individuals, families, communities and the government are all affected
in one way or the other.

Example:

The most famous tornado: The Tri-State Tornado

On March 18, 1925, a powerful tornado touched down near Ellington, Missouri, and moved quickly
to the northeast, devastating towns in its path. The storm stayed on the ground for three and a half
hours, passing into Illinois and Indiana before dissipating. The storm killed 695 people and injured
more than 2,000, making it the deadliest tornado in American history.

How to protect yourself during a tornado.

Before a tornado:

 Always be aware of the safer places

 Be aware of the weather in your town and the suggested actions you can do to keep safe.

During a tornado:

 During an approaching tornado, quickly move to your basement or designated area if you
are in a public place.
 If there is no basement in your home, consider finding a low area away from windows like
your bathroom
  If you are driving, or in a vehicle, make your way to the closest sturdy building and take
cover. If there is none around, stay in your car, wear your seat belt and cover your head.
Never try to look into the window, or get out, as there may be flying debris that can smash
your windows.

Bibliography:

https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=170669

https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=170669

https://eschooltoday.com/natural-disasters/tornadoes/what-is-a-tornado.html

https://sciencing.com/famous-tornadoes-19474.html

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/tornadoes/

https://scied.ucar.edu/webweather/tornadoes/where-tornadoes-happen

https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/climate-information/extreme-events/us-tornado-climatology