Tornado

The sky become dark greenish tint, while black storm clouds threaten above. While cats hide behind couches and dogs cry, the wind howls loudly. 

 

Tornadoes, also referred to as twisters, are ferociously spinning columns of air in the shape of a funnel that extend all the way from the dark thunderclouds in which they originate to the ground. A tornado's wind speed can reach 250 miles per hour that is faster than a race car. These violent gusts have the power to demolish bridges, topple trains, and send automobiles flying. They have also been seen to remove tree bark and drain a riverbed of all its water. 

 

Although tornadoes may be found all over the world, the United States leads the pack in terms of storm intensity and frequency, with about a thousand twisters touching down year. (Bangladesh and Argentina are the next.) They contribute to larger U.S. storm systems, which result in roughly 80 fatalities and close to $1 billion in damage annually.

 

When warm, humid air is forced over by cold, dry air, thunderstorms result. An updraft, or shift in wind direction, results as that warm air rises through the cooler air. The updraft will start to rotate if the thunderstorm's winds have significant speed or direction variations. A funnel cloud starts to form as the rotation speed of the revolving updraft accelerates as it pulls in more warm air from the moving thunderstorm. The funnel lengthens as the twister gets stronger. (As more dirt and debris are drawn into the rotating funnel, it becomes more obvious.) When it strikes the ground, it becomes the most hazardous.

 

Supercells, the term scientists use to describe huge thunderstorms with winds already rotating, are where the most severe tornadoes occur. A supercell develops from about one in 1,000 thunderstorms, and one in five or six supercells produce a tornado. While some tornadoes can rage for more than an hour, the average tornado only lasts for roughly 10 minutes despite its immense strength. Twisters frequently perish as they go across cooler terrain or when the clouds above them begin to disperse.

 

The Tri-State Tornado of 1925 still stands as the tornado with the longest and closest path. The tornado, which was named after the three states it struck—Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana—tore through 219 miles in three and a half hours. 

 

While tornadoes have been seen in every state in the United States, many of them originate in an area known as Tornado Alley. From Texas to Ohio, this region of the Midwest encompasses Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota, Oklahoma, and Nebraska.

 

These states are in the path of both cool air coming from the Rocky Mountains and warm, humid air coming from the Gulf of Mexico. Tornadoes are frequently created when the warm and cool airstreams collide.

 

Although storms can occur at any time of the year, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas experience tornado season from late May to early June. Tornadoes are more likely to form in June or July in North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota. 

 

To collect information about wind speed and temperature during thunderstorms, meteorologists employ weather satellites, weather balloons, and buoys. Then they use supercomputers to analyze the data. This aids researchers in determining the potential location and timing of a twister as well as its strength and duration. 

 

Experts issue a tornado watch for a region, such as a county or significant portion of a state, if the weather is conducive to the formation of a tornado. This does not indicate that a tornado is imminent. The watch is issued by meteorologists so that people can be ready, but it could still be. Scientists give a tornado warning for a smaller area, such as a town or a section of a city, when a tornado is observed or detected on weather radar. There, people are urged to seek cover.

 

Some specialists even enter storm-forming zones in their cars! Temperature, humidity, and air pressure are measured by vehicles outfitted with specialized science equipment, and the data is sent to meteorologists at the weather service's main office. 

 

However, the data that these "tornado chasers" compile also aids in the scientific study of tornadoes. These tools have improved meteorologists' ability to anticipate where and when tornadoes will originate, allowing those in their path more time to seek safety. For instance, a tornado would only give people a five-minute notice in the 1980s, by the late 2000s, that period had increased to thirteen minutes. 

 

• Keep an eye out for tornado warnings in weather reports.

 

• Keep all windows closed.

 

• Set up a safe space. This can be the lowest room in the middle of your home or apartment complex, away from exterior walls and windows. It could also be your basement. Bathrooms and closets without windows also function effectively.

 

• Stock the safe room with sleeping bags, blankets, pillows, and your family's emergency supply kit (water, food, flashlight, and radio).

 

• Have a safety strategy for emergencies. Make sure you know where to go in the event of an evacuation if you live in a trailer or mobile home.

 

• Remain indoors, never try to follow or witness a tornado.

 

• Stay away from windows. The majority of injuries are caused by flying debris or by the windows that the debris crashes through, not by the tornado itself.

 

• Use the cushions, blankets, and sleeping bags to swaddle yourself. Crawl under any substantial furniture, such as a table, if there is one.

 

• Fold your arms over your head and neck.

 

• If you're stranded outside and unable to locate cover, search for a ditch, gulley, or simply a flat area of land apart from trees and moving vehicles. Lay down as flat as you can and drape your arms over your head and neck. (Avoid attempting this beneath a bridge or overpass.) 

 

• Wait for permission from local authorities before leaving your shelter. Observe their recommendations.

 

• Be careful where you step if you go outside since hazardous debris could be anywhere.

 

• Keep an eye out for more tornado reports. Occasionally, multiple people can whip up at once.