Tornadoes are some of the most unpredictable weather we have on earth. Tornadoes belong to the category of meteorology in earth science. Meteorology is the science that deals with the weather and conditions. A tornado is a violent destructive whirling wind accompanied by a funnel-shaped cloud that progress in a narrow path over the land, (Merriam-Webster, 2014). How are tornadoes created? Tornadoes are the result of an extremely large storm called a supercell. A supercell is a storm that has the presence of a mesocyclone. A mesocyclone possesses a deep, persistently rotating updraft. These storms are also referred to as rotating thunderstorms. There are five classifications of thunderstorms: supercell, squall line, multi-cell, and single-cell. Supercells tend to be the least common but have the potential to be the most severe. Supercells are isolated from other thunderstorms and can impact area weather from as far away as 32 miles. A squall line is a thunderstorm that forms alongside of a cold front. The squall line contains heavy precipitation, hail, constant lightning, strong straight-line winds, and potentially tornadoes. Strong straight-line winds usually occur when the squall line is in the shape of a bow echo (Wikipedia, 2014). The bow echoes develop within the summer months are commonly known as derechos. Single cell showers are when a single moist convective cell develops in an air mass that is moderately unstable. When the up draught and the rain downdraught come together in the atmospheric column, the downdraught overtakes the up draught. There then becomes a change of wind speed with height of the up draught column becomes tilted forward. The cold downdraught overtakes the inflow of surface air, cutting off the up dr... ... middle of paper ... ...ation along the radar beam. It measures the speed of the rain or hail is moving toward or away from the radar. From a volume scan forecasters can get a detailed look at structures in the storm’s path. Some safety tips are as follows if you live in an area where tornadoes are frequent. A house with a finished basement, corner rooms or bathrooms and closets offer extra protection. This reduces the risk of your home caving in on you and better protects you from flying debris. If you are in a high-rise building go to the lowest level or the most interior room of the building you can find. One of the worst places to be during a tornado is in a vehicle. Tornadoes usually move from southwest to northeast or from west to east. Occasionally tornadoes can take a turn in any direction. If the storm is approaching fast, you should seek shelter in a sturdy building or ditch.
Appears in Preprints, 18 th AMS Conf. Severe Local Storms (San Francisco, CA), 19-23 February 1996, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 471-473. Typos and other minor problems have been fixed in this Web version.
A tornado outbreak occurs when a large number (six or more) of tornadoes are formed in groups or individual storms within a 24-48-hour period over a specific geographical area and spawned from the same general weather system. The April 3-4 outbreak of 1974 was the worst in the United States recorded history. Never before had so many tornadoes brought so much destruction to such a wide area of this country. It was so bad that a name had to be found for it. "Super Outbreak" is what they came up with. This storm, which extended from the afternoon of April 3rd through the morning of April 4th, produced 148 tornadoes in thirteen states.
Tornadoes form from wind shears. Wind shears form from warm air that is found at ground level; when it’s raised, the updraft meets a down draft of cooler air that is moved in the opposite direction of the warm air. When both are pushed towards the Earth, this creates wind shear. A spinning tube of air, created from wind shear; tilts upward into a vertical position, as the updraft sucks up moisture from the ground and into the sky. As the warm air cools high in the sky; this produces condensation. The condensation then produces thunderclouds, which rise to 30,000+ feet. The spinning formations of air are then trapped and lifted into the thundercloud. This begins as swirling motion and as continued (if the winds remained viable), a supercell will form. Mesocyclones as they are known are a rotating cloud. If these rotating clouds run into humid air it will spi...
Tornadoes, also called twisters or cyclones, are a localized, violently destructive windstorm occurring over land, and characterized by a long, funnel-shaped cloud extending toward the ground and made visible by condensation and debris. They come in many different shapes and sizes, but are typical in a funnel formation, where the narrow end makes contact with the earth. Most don’t reach winds over 110 miles per hour (177 km/h) or have a path wider than 250 feet (76m), and most only travel a few miles on ground before dissipating. Although, some can reach winds as high as 300 miles per hour (483 km/h) or higher, have a path that can be as wide as two miles (3.2 km) or more, and can travel for dozens of miles on the ground before dissipating.
Thunder rolled intensely outside, my aunt, mother, sister and I were sat calmly in the basement. We had been through this many times before; I mean afterall, Kansas was part of Tornado Alley. 2. My sister and I were young when this happened, her probably four or five, me about eight. 3. Before we had even started driving to my aunt’s house; since she’s the only one with a basement; my sister and I were complaining about being hungry. 4. Mom said she would get us something to eat soon, but then the sirens started blaring. 5. She called my aunt and told her we would be over in about ten minutes. 6. Me and my sister continued to complain about being hungry because, we always had to get what we wanted. 7. So my mom stopped at McDonald’s and got us some food. 8. After we were almost five minutes later than we said we would be my aunt panicked. 9. Jenny, my aunt, was calling like crazy. 10. When we finally got to her house she lectured my mom about how it wasn’t safe to have us out there like that with a tornado in the area. 11.Afterwards, we all sat on the porch and watched the storm. 12. That’s my favorite memory with my family, and it’s one I’ll never forget.
1. According to the USA Today Tornado Information website, a tornado is a "violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and pendant from a thunderstorm." Therefore, thunderstorms are the first step in the creation of a tornado.
Retrieved March 3, 2011, from USA Immigration Services: http://www.geographic.org/climate/c.html. National Weather Service. (2011, March 3). The. Tri-State Tornado Web Site.
Many scientists often find themselves wondering if the tri-state tornado was really a single massive tornado or if it was part of a family of tornadoes that continuously evolve from one supercell to another. Only one factor stands in the way of this theory and that is a cyclical supercell usually has breaks in its destructive path. The tri-state tornado's path of damage appeared to be continuous despite two slight decreases in the destruction. One of which was near the onset of the storm, and one near the demise. No matter which is believed, one thing is for certain, and that is a storm like the tri-state tornado could very well happen again, but there is no telling when or where it may occur.
Tornadoes are commonly spawned in thunderstorms. The most creative tornado nurseries are the county-size thunderstorms called “supercells.” Thunderstorms evolve through three phases. During the first “cumulus” stage, a warm bubble of air is lifted upward. The lifting can begin when air flows up the side of a mountain or hitches a ride f...
The kind of thunderstorms that produce our summer rains are called ordinary thunderstorms, or air mass thunderstorms. They form when warm, humid air rises in an unstable atmosphere. Warm air cools down as it rises, and once it becomes colder than the air around it, it will begin to fall back down. In an unstable atmosphere, the temperature of the surrounding air decreases faster with height than the temperature of the rising warm air. This causes the warm, moist air to continually be warmer than the atmosphere, and continue rising to large heights. When this happens, we have the basis for a thunderstorm. Thunderstorm formation occurs in three stages - the cumulus stage, the mature stage, and the dissipating stage.
Tornadoes are one of the deadliest and most unpredictable villains mankind will ever face. There is no rhyme or reason, no rhythm to it’s madness. Tornados are one of the most terrifying natural events that occur, destroying homes and ending lives every year. April 29th, 1995, a calm, muggy, spring night I may never forget. Jason, a buddy I grew up with, just agreed to travel across state with me so we could visit a friend in Lubbock. Jason and I were admiring the beautiful blue bonnets, which traveled for miles like little blue birds flying close to the ground. The warm breeze brushed across the tips of the blue bonnets and allowed them to dance under the perfectly clear blue sky. In the distance, however, we could see darkness. A rumbling sky was quickly approaching.
A tornado requires some basic ingredients to come together. First, energy in the form of warm, moist air must exist to feed thunder storms. Second, there must be a top layer of hot, dry air called a cap. This air acts like a lid on a simmering pot, holding in the warm air that’s accumulating in the atmosphere below until the storm’s ready to burst. Last, there has to be rotating winds speeding in oppositedirections at two different levels in the atmosphere, a phenomenon called wind shear, can cause the storms to rotate. Tornado alley is perfectly situated to meet these requirements. (1)
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that extends from a thunderstorm cloud to the earth’s surface. They are sometimes nicknamed twisters because of their shape and because of what they do. The winds in the tornadoes are usually 100mph or less. In +F4's they can exceed 250mph. They usually stay on a track of a few miles or less and are less than 100 yds. wide. For the development of tornadoes there are a few conditions required. An abundant low-level of moisture and unstable atmosphere is required not only for the tornado, but for a thunderstorm also. A “trigger”, which is a cold front or low level zone of converging winds, is needed to lift the moisture and the air. When the air rises , it becomes saturated and continue to rise higher and higher. They then form in areas where winds at all levels of the atmosphere are strong and turn clockwise with height.Some tornadoes appear as a funnel shape and some have a churning smoky look . Some contain multiple vortices , which are small individual tornadoes rotating around a common center. Some can be invisible , with only swirling dust or debris at ground level as the only indication of the tornado’s presence. Tornadoes can occur at any time of the year, and anywhere in the world. The unique geography of the US is what helps us produce some of the most violent tornadoes because of the favorable condition’s for their development . The months with the greatest amount of tornadoes are April, May and June .
It is important to remember that two percent of all tornadoes are severe, and most well-built homes can withstand the brutal punishment. The next time nature’s fury strikes your city, you will be well aware of the raw power of the tornado. Nothing guarantees your survival, but since you are ready for impact, you have just tripled your chances. In the words of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, “there is no place like home, there is no place like home.” Be prepared!
There are many types of tornadoes. The average tornado is usually split up into categories based on the strength of the tornado. Most tornadoes, about sixty nine percent 69%, are considered weak, which means they usually last between one minute and ten minutes, have winds less than one hundred and ten miles per hour, and the percent of deaths that occur during these is less than five percent. Strong tornadoes, about twenty nine percent 29%, may last about twenty minutes, have winds between one hundred and ten and two hundred and five miles per hour, and the percent of deaths that are found are about thirty percent of all tornado deaths. The last category for tornadoes is violent ones. With these comes winds greater than two hundred and five miles per hour, they can last about an hour, and have seventy percent of all deaths from tornadoes. Another type of tornado is known as a waterspout. This is a weak tornado that forms over warm water. They are most common along the Gulf Coast and southeastern states. In the western United States, they occur with cold late fall or late winter storms, during a time when you least expect it to develop. They occasionally move inland becoming tornadoes that can cause a great deal of damage and many injuries.