What is a Tornado? | Weather Science | SciShow Kids
Published May 25, 2023, 4:20 p.m. by Violet Harris
What is a tornado?
A tornado is a rotating column of air that extends from the base of a thunderstorm to the ground. tornadoes can occur anywhere in the world, but they are most common in the United States, where about 1,200 occur each year.
tornadoes are one of the most destructive weather phenomena. They can cause extensive damage to buildings, uproot trees, and toss cars and other debris through the air. tornadoes can also cause injuries and fatalities.
Most tornadoes in the United States occur in the spring and early summer months. The peak tornado season is from April through June.
tornadoes form when warm, moist air rises and meets cooler, drier air. This creates an updraft, or a rising column of air. If the updraft is strong enough, it can start to rotate.
As the rotating column of air rises, it starts to spin faster and faster. The column of air can eventually extend from the thunderstorm all the way to the ground, forming a tornado.
tornadoes are classified according to their wind speed and damage they cause. The Fujita Scale is used to classify tornadoes by wind speed. The most powerful tornadoes are classified as F5, with wind speeds over 200 mph. These tornadoes can cause catastrophic damage, with entire neighborhoods being leveled.
Fortunately, most tornadoes are not that powerful. In fact, most tornadoes are classified as F0 or F1, with wind speeds between 40 and 72 mph. These tornadoes usually cause only minor damage, such as broken windows and downed tree limbs.
Despite their relatively weak wind speeds, even F0 and F1 tornadoes can be dangerous. That’s because they can occur without warning and can be difficult to avoid. If you are in an area that is prone to tornadoes, it is important to be prepared.
The best way to protect yourself from a tornado is to take shelter in a sturdy building, such as a home or office building. If you are caught outside, try to find a ditch or culvert to take shelter in. You should also avoid being near large objects, such as trees or power lines.
If a tornado is headed your way, the best thing to do is to take shelter immediately. tornado warnings are issued when a tornado has been sighted or when radar indicates that a tornado is likely to form.
If you hear a tornado warning, take cover immediately. Go to the lowest level of the building you are in and get away from windows. A bathroom or closet is often the best place to take shelter.
If you are driving, do not try to outrun a tornado. If you see a tornado, pull over and take shelter in a ditch or culvert. Do not try to shelter under an overpass or bridge. These structures can collapse if a tornado hits them.
tornadoes can be unpredictable and dangerous. But if you are prepared, you can help keep yourself and your family safe.
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the weather is a funny thing one day it
can be sunny and warm perfect day for
sunglasses and flip-flops but the next
day it can be cold and rainy most of the
time the weather doesn't give us
anything that we can't handle with maybe
some sunscreen or an umbrella or a snow
shovel but sometimes and in some places
there can be extreme weather like big
thunderstorms or hurricanes or snow
storms and one of the most powerful
kinds of extreme weather out there is a
type of a storm that scientists pay
close attention to tornadoes a tornado
is a fast spinning column of air that
stretches all the way from a
thunderstorm cloud in the sky down to
the earth's surface because tornadoes
turn and twist as they move they're
sometimes called twisters they form
inside really big thunderstorms when
cold dry air moving from one direction
bumps into warm wet air coming from a
different direction because the cold air
is heavier it slides down under the warm
air and pushes it up really fast all
this fast-moving air rushing up and down
can create a sort of spinning
thunderstorm and it can eventually keep
going to form a tornado and when a
tornado forms it can be one of the most
powerful forces in nature tornado winds
are the strongest in the world even
stronger than hurricanes in some
twisters we know that the wind can blow
to almost 500 kilometers an hour strong
enough to lift heavy things like cars
and trucks into the air and they're loud
too people who have seen them or even
been in them say they sound like giant
roaring trains but they don't move as
fast as a speeding train usually
tornadoes travel across the land at
about 50 kilometers an hour slower than
most cars go now weather can be really
unpredictable which means that you just
can't predict or know what's going to
happen before it happens and that's
especially true for tornadoes these
windy storms can speed up slow down
change direction or even stand still and
they can last anywhere from a few
seconds to as long as an hour while
tornadoes can happen all over the world
they're most common in the united states
about two-thirds of all the tornadoes in
the world happen right down the middle
of the country from the dakotas down to
texas especially in the late spring and
early summer because tornadoes are so
powerful and so unpredictable
meteorologists spend a lot of time
studying them they want to understand
more about exactly how and when
tornadoes can form and hopefully predict
when they'll show up there are even
people called storm chasers who follow
big storms around the middle of the u.s
hoping to spot one as it turns into a
tornado so we can get a better picture
of what really happens when a twister
forms scientists still don't know for
sure when a tornado is going to happen
but they have gotten better at
predicting which thunderstorms might be
strong enough to create one and if they
spot a bad looking storm early enough
then they can give people who live
nearby a warning that a twister might be
coming that's one of the most important
jobs that a meteorologist has helping
people get ready for extreme weather so
the more they learn about tornadoes the
better we can prepare for them and the
more they can help us understand how our
weather works
even when it's not so extreme i hope the
weather is nice where you are and if you
have any questions for any of us here at
the fort about weather animals space or
anything just let us know by leaving a
comment or emailing us at kids at the
scishow.com thanks for joining us and
see you next time
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