Tornadoes are among the most well known natural disasters of this planet and can be recalled as a cyclone of whirling air. Going into more detail about tornadoes, air is involved in the process of a tornado which also means atmospheric weather conditions must be present in order to form a tornado. With the crucial conditions, tornadoes can cause a large loss of life and throw massive objects with ease. Scientists analyze wind speeds to receive a brief understanding of what damage a tornado can cause. However, how does a tornado manage to come to life?
Scientists are not entirely certain of how tornadoes form but they have uncovered some conditions with atmospheric characteristics that are important to a tornado’s development. The weather assets imperative for a tornado to occur are quick wind speeds, a moist, a warm, moist air mass coming into contact with a dry, cool air mass creating atmospheric instability, a wind shear, and a certain wind course. Also, these air masses must be equipped with these conditions and properties in order for a tornado to occur. Tornadoes are formed when a large thunderstorm transpires in a cumulonimbus cloud. A variation in the course of the wind and wind speed at high altitudes causes air pressure to revolve in a spiraling pattern horizontally. The funnel of the whirling air pressure meets the earth’s surface, creating a tornado.
The location on the earth where tornadoes are most likely to occur is in the central region of the US. This is a vast expanse of flat land in the more middle part of the US, whose terrain is mostly prairie, steppe, and grassland. Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Montana, Nebraska, Colorado, and Oklahoma are the eight states that are associated and lie within this special biome. Tornadoes are most typical in this environment because it gives the tornado in development imperative components to transform into an ominous cyclone. It’s smooth surface also helps by not having the tornado transfer to a higher elevation or rough land, weakening it significantly. Tornado season in the US is spring or summer depending on the location of the states. The south is March to May while the Southern Plains is May to early June. The Gulf Coast of the US is Spring and the upper midwest is June to July. The damage that can be anticipated from a tornado is destructive. Tornadoes can quickly dismantle houses into a pile of debris and destroy more complex human-constructed structures. It uproots trees in its range and hurls vehicles hundreds of meters away. Damage paths can be in the excess of one mile wide to fifty miles long. Objects being grasped in the tornadoes vacuum are lifted up and thrown away with great force. Miraculously, several people have survived from that but they reported their experiences about seventy years ago. The characteristics of this storm that can cause the most loss of life are the wind speeds and the tornado vacuum. These fling debris at people still outside. Thunder is also frequent and can cause blackouts but can also cut power lines and creator fire outbreaks. Rapid flooding is a concern because it can sink cars driving away, drown people in the process, and carry infectious diseases, chemical waste, and sharp items.
Severe weather activity officially becomes a tornado when a thunderstorm is accounted for and produces a cyclone of circulating air pressure or a radar used for perceiving weather disasters denotes harsh low level whirling in the presence of atmosphere-associated circumstances favorable to forming a tornado. Wind speeds must overcome 39 miles per hour. Meteorologists, experts who examine and study atmospheric conditions and its phenomena, categorize the severity of a tornado based of its wind speeds. Tornadoes were never classified until 1971 when Dr. Fujita developed a strategy for ranking tornadoes by observing at how much destruction they cause and using the data from it to speculate wind speed. Tornadoes were then organized into 5 categories from F-0 to F-5. F-0 is the calmest and F-5 is the most ferocious. For example, if a tornado was placed in F-3 it would have severe damage, wind speeds of 158-205 mph, and can hurl vehicles and overturn trains. Equipment or meteorology instruments after had this role but weren’t that great since tornadoes either destroy the equipment, tornadoes last only several minutes, or they move for a relatively small distance. During the storm, the public are advised to obey these safety procedures during a tornado. They must react quickly after being informed from a tornado warning. The public must seek shelter to take refuge in and enter the most lowest level. If there is nothing like that, go to the middle of an interior room. Remember to restrain yourself from approaching windows. At home, go to a basement or the most interior room on the main floor. If caught outside, lie down flat in a nearby ditch and protect your head from tossed debris with your hands. There are two warning systems; a tornado watch and a tornado warning. A tornado watch says that atmosphere circumstances are conducive for the developing of violent thunderstorms that can produce tornadoes. A tornado warning shows that a tornado is imminent or occuring.
Tornadoes can result into a large number of fatalities, destruction and famine, and depress the living humans devastated by the tornadoes’ suppression on nourishments, shelter, and activities. Unfortunately, a tornado has caused this kind of devastation. The Daulatpur-Saturia tornado harassed the Manikganj District of Bangladesh in April 26th, 1989 with colossal impact. Bangladesh is a country in South Asia specifically of the East of India which also lies within the Bay of Bengal. This tornado is most notorious for ranking as the world’s most fatal tornado. It claimed an estimated sum of 1,300 lives and 12,000 wounded. All buildings located in a 2.3 square mile radius were decimated, forcing an approximate count of 80,000 people without a home. This isn’t the only time Bangladesh experienced a high death toll due to tornadoes. This has been the only time a tornado had more than 1,000 casualties yet this tornado is not well known among other people settling in other countries. The most loss of life due to a tornado in the US is the Tri-State tornado. It possess “Tri-State” in its name because it exerted havoc on three states: Missouri, Illinois, Indiana. All states lie within or are near “Tornado Alley”. A significant series of tornado outbreaks battered all three states on March 18th, 1925 and persisted for several hours. 164 square miles were struck by the tornado. It killed 695 people and left 2,027 wounded ranks second on the world’s deadliest tornadoes and was categorized as an F5 on the Fujita Scale eventually. Illinois received the most deaths,(613 casualties), and has the record for the largest casualty toll during a tornadic occurrence in the US to this day. The money to restore damage including 747 facilities, 9 schools, and 15,000 homes dismantled was approximately $16.5M at that current period but the expense today would be $1.4B. Medical treatment would also be expensive if it was providing health treatment for all 2,027 wounded. Here are 4 interesting facts about tornadoes:
Tornadoes have been recorded in every US state and every continent except for the exclusion of Antarctica. Antarctica and the rest of the continents have the favorable atmospheric conditions but Antarctica doesn’t have moist, warm air masses and brisk warming of the earth’s ground to support tornado development.
Tornadoes can last for only a few seconds to several hours. The vast majority of tornadoes typically last less than 10 minutes. The longest occuring tornado has still not been confirmed because many are reported from the mid 1900s and are sometimes considered to be a series of tornadoes instead.
There many believed tornadoes to be the first in history but the most popular belief spoken on the internet thought the first tornado was in July 5th, 1643. This was documented by the current Massachusetts Governor of that time, John Winthrop. He stated the tornado killed a spectator observing it and the tornado lifted and threw his meeting house. Others contradict over when the first tornado occured going back to more early times as much as the 1000s.
You can be successful in outrunning a tornado in pursuit of you with a car if there is no debris or traffic on the path. Tornadoes typically move 70 mph which is a speed a car can accelerate over easily. This is highly not requested since the tornadoes vacuum can easily force heavy objects in it’s vortex and can catapult debris abruptly in the process.
In conclusion, the necessity of atmosphere-related circumstances and a thunderstorm are required to attend in order to produce a tornado. Tornadoes are likely to be harmful as they have the potential to viciously toss debris in an abrupt manner and tend to exist in the central region of the US otherwise known as “The Great Plains”. These storms were responsible for many casualties both in the US and Asia at a specific time and are typically measured by an atmospheric instrument called the Fujita Scale. Tornadoes are without a doubt something to not be underestimated and will always be a fearful horror of nature.
