What are Tornados?

A tornado is a twisting funnel, a couple hundred meters across, in which wind speeds can reach 350 km/h.
Tornadoes occur in many parts of the world but they are most frequently found in the U.S.A east of the Rocky Mountains during spring and summer. There are about 800 tornadoes every year in the U.S.A, resulting in 80 deaths.
Thunder storms often produce large hail, strong winds and tornadoes. Tornadoes sometimes accompany tropical storms and hurricanes.
A tornado’s diameter can differ between a couple of feet to a mile. A tornado normally travels in a northeasterly distance at speeds of 32 to 64 kilometers per hour and normally covers anywhere between 1 and 160km.

69% of all tornadoes are weak, 29% of all tornadoes are strong and 2% of all tornadoes are violent.
Weak tornadoes result in less than 5% of tornado deaths.
Strong tornadoes result in almost 30% of tornado deaths.
Violent tornadoes result in 70% of tornado deaths.
Tornadoes are most likely to occur between 3 and 9 p.m. but they can occur anytime of the day or night.

Safety tips: look out for dark, a lot of the time greenish sky.
Look out for wall cloud, large hail and a loud roar.
When the weather looks bad, listen to the radio in case there is a warning.

A weak tornado that forms over warm water is called a waterspout, but sometimes these tornadoes move onto land, get stronger, and cause damage.
People in cars and old and very young people are most at risk from tornadoes.

copyright basti 2011

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