Important Facts about Tornadoes

Facts on Tornadoes: Tornadoes are nature’s most violent storms, characterized by violently rotating columns of air formed by the convergence of warm and cool air masses. Tornadoes often manifest as dark, funnel-shaped clouds that are capable of causing devastating damage, with wind speeds exceeding 300 miles per hour.

In this article, we will study some key facts about tornadoes, exploring their formation, classification, and the science behind their destructive power.

Historical Facts about Tornadoes

Tornadoes, also known as twisters, are violent and rapidly rotating columns of air that stretch from the dark cumulonimbus cloud to the surface of the Earth. Tornadoes form when warm, humid air collides with cold, dry air. The warm air rises through the colder air, causing an updraft. The updraft will start to rotate if winds vary sharply in speed or direction. Tornadoes are hard to see unless they form a condensation funnel made up of water droplets, dust, and debris.

• The earliest known tornado was recorded in Europe that struck Freising (Germany) in 788.
• The first confirmed tornado report was in 1643, when John Winthrop, the governor of Massachusetts at the time, observed and recorded a violent gust that blew down many trees.
• The earliest known Asian tornado struck near the city of Kolkata (West Bengal) India in 1838.
• The deadliest tornado in history was the Daulatpur–Saturia tornado in Bangladesh on April 26, 1989, which killed about 1,300 people.
• The longest-lasting and greatest distance traveled by a single tornado was 219 miles and 3.5 hours, from Ellington, Missouri to Princeton, Indiana on March 18, 1925.
• On May 3, 1999, a tornado in Oklahoma was measured to reach 302 mph, the highest winds ever found on the Earth’s surface.
• On average, worldwide 800 tornadoes are reported annually. The majority of tornadoes occur in the United States, particularly in the central region known as Tornado Alley.

Intensity of Tornadoes

• The Intensity of tornadoes is based on the speed of the wind and the potential risk produced by it. Tornadoes vary in intensity regardless of shape, size, and location.
• The Fujita Scale is an internationally accepted standard for measuring tornado severity. 
• The scale ranks tornadoes from F0 to F5, with F0 being the least intense and F5 being the most intense.
• Tornado intensity can also be measured using the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale, which categorizes tornadoes based on the estimated wind speeds and the resulting damage.
• EF0 tornadoes have wind speeds of 65-85 mph, while EF5 tornadoes can have winds exceeding 200 mph, indicating a significantly higher destructive potential.
• The scale helps gauge the destructive potential based on observed damage rather than direct wind speed measurements.

Formation of Tornadoes

The tornado forms by the interplay of various atmospheric conditions. The process of formation of a tornado is as follows:

• Tornadoes form when warm, humid air collides with cold, dry air. The denser cold air pushes over the warm air, usually producing thunderstorms. 
• The warm air rises through the colder air, causing an updraft. The updraft will begin to rotate if winds vary sharply in speed or direction. Rotating column of air is known as mesocyclone.
• Strong updraft tilts the mesocyclone into a vertical position. Descending and rotating mesocyclone forms a visible wall cloud.
• If the rotating column extends but does not touch the ground, it’s a funnel cloud. When the funnel cloud contacts the ground, it becomes a tornado.
• These thunderstorms also may generate large hail and damaging winds.
• Tornadoes can last from minutes to several hours, although the typical time is around 5 to 10 minutes. Supercell tornadoes tend to be longer-lived.
• Tornadoes can form in any month of the year not just during ‘ tornado season’

Necessary Conditions for the Formation of a Tornado

Condition necessary for the formation of tornado are as follows:

• Atmospheric instability: Warm moist air near the ground, with cooler dry air aloft.
• Wind Shear: Change in the speed and direction of wind with height.

How Does a Tornadoes Obtain its Energy?

Tornadoes get their energy from the energy released in a thunderstorm.

The energy from the atmosphere when warm, moist air at the surface rises and condenses in a rapidly rotating updraft within a severe thunderstorm.

The condensation process releases latent heat, intensifying the updraft and providing the energy for tornado formation.

The most important source of energy for a tornado is the Sun’s radiation. Tornadoes are dangerous because their energy is concentrated in a small area, perhaps only a hundred yards across. The average tornado releases approximately 10,000 kilowatt-hours of energy.

How Do Tornadoes Get Their Name?

The word “tornado” is derived from the Spanish word tornado, which means “thunderstorm”.

Tornadoes don’t have names like hurricanes or tropical storms because there are so many of them and they only last a short time.

Tornadoes are named after the place where they caused the most damage, along with the year, month, and sometimes the date. 

If the tornado causes severe damage in multiple areas, the names of the start and end locations of the damage are used.

Common Regions of Tornadoes

Tornadoes are most common in the mid-latitudes, between 20° and 60° North and South. In this region, warm tropical air meets cold polar air, creating thunderstorms and convective precipitation. Tornadoes are rare in polar regions and irregular in latitudes higher than 50° N and 50° S. They have been reported on all continents except Antarctica.

• The United States has the highest number of tornadoes in the world, averaging 1,150-1,200 tornadoes every year.
• In the Unites States tornadoes are most common in a region called Tornado Alley which includes Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska.
• Outside the U.S the highest number of tornadoes occur in South Africa, Philippines, Northern Mexico, Uruguay, New Zealand, Argentina, Southern and southeastern Brazil and Bangladesh. 
• In Asia, the highest number of tornadoes are reported in Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Japan.

Categories of Tornadoes

Tornadoes are categorized based on their intensity using the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale. The classification is as follows:

EF Scale	Wind Speed	Damage
0	65-85 mph	Minor Damage: Minor roof and brances
1	86-110 mph	Moderate Damage: Broken Windows
2	111-135 mph	Considerable Damage: Roofs off , large trees.
3	136- 165 mph	Severe Damage: Homes Damaged
4	166- 200 mph	Devastating Damage: Homes Leveled
5	>200 mph	Incredible Damage

Parts of Tornadoes

A tornado is a rapidly rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud. Parts of the tornado are as follows:

1. Funnel Cloud: Visible condensation funnel extending from the base of the tornado to the cloud.
2. Vortex: Vortex forms the core of the tornado with intense rotation. It is a narrow, cylindrical region with extremely low pressure and high wind speeds.
3. Debris Cloud: Debris pick up from the ground is visible in the form of a cloud surrounding the base of the tornado.
4. Roping Stage: It is the tornado’s mature phase or represent the stage when it begin to dissipate. It is characterized by a slender and elongated appearance.
5. Wall Cloud: Wall clod is the lowering and rotating cloud beneath the thunderstorm. It is associated with the updraft region of a supercell and a precursor to tornado formation.
6. Clear Slot: It is the clear or cloud-free air wrapping around the tornado’s wall cloud. It is often associated with supercell structure.

Impact of Tornadoes

Tornadoes can have many short-term and long-term effects on the environment. Some short-term effects include: loss of animal homes, uprooting of the trees and plants. Long term impacts includes:

• Tornadoes can destroy buildings and infrastructure, leading to significant financial losses.
• Due to their destructive force, tornadoes can cause fatalities and injuries.
• Flying debris poses a severe threat to life and property.
• Essential services like electricity and water supply can be disrupted.
• It can destroy the vegetation that take years to regrow.
• Tornadoes may alter the landscape and vegetation in affected areas.
• It can cause pollution or contaminate the environment.
• Tornadoes can also disrupt transportation, power, water, gas, communications, and other services.

Prediction of Tornadoes

Although scientists know how tornadoes form, it’s nearly impossible to predict when one will develop. Certain conditions needs to be present for tornado formation and that include:

• Warm air
• Humidity near ground level
• Fast-moving winds
• Wind structures that can make a thunderstorm rotate as a supercell

Doppler radar helps detect rotating mesocyclones within storms, while numerical weather prediction models improve forecasting accuracy. Despite advancements, predicting tornadoes remains challenging due to their rapid formation. Some warning signs of a tornado are:

• The color of the sky may change to a dark greenish color
• A strange quiet occurring within or shortly after a thunderstorm
• An approaching cloud of debris, especially at ground level
• A loud roar that sounds similar to a freight train
• Large hail often in the absence of rain
• Debris falling from the sky

Current warnings are largely based on observations. However, new guidance tools are being developed that will offer detailed information on the type, severity, and probability of the weather threat before it is detected.

Effect of Climate Change on Tornadoes

Climate change is likely to affect tornadoes, but it’s difficult to predict how. Some ways climate change may be affecting tornadoes are:

• Warmer temperatures provide more fuel for storms. A warmer, more humid world may also allow for more frequent instability.
• Tornado season may be longer and move farther east.
• Some trends may limit storm development.
• Climate change may be shifting the concentration and range of tornadoes, pushing them into more vulnerable areas.

Recent News about Tornadoes

The United States has the most tornadoes in the world, and the strongest and most violent tornadoes. 2023 has seen more deadly tornadoes than any year since 2011, with at least 26 deadly tornadoes hitting the United States.

United States: The first three months of 2023 saw a record number of tornadoes, with the majority of reports coming from the Southeast. The deadliest tornado of 2023 was a multi-day severe weather outbreak that produced more than 33 tornadoes across the South, including an EF-4 that rolled through Mississippi. The tornado was the strongest and deadliest of the tornado outbreak of March 24–27, 2023, killing 17 people and injuring at least 165 others.

China: On September 19, 2023, a deadly tornado wreaked havoc in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, killing at least five people and seriously injuring four others.

Interesting Facts on Tornadoes

Some of the facts related to tornadoes are:

• They can form in any month of the year and can come from both supercell and non-supercell thunderstorms.
• Tornadoes can happen anywhere in the world, although they are most common in the United States
• Tornadoes can vary in size from a few yards to more than a mile wide.
• They can have wind speeds ranging from less than 100 mph to over 200 mph.
• Tornadoes can clear a pathway a mile wide and 50 miles long.
• Some tornadoes are actually invisible, but their high wind speeds and fast rotation often form a visible funnel of condensed water.
• Most tornadoes are only able to travel a few miles before dying out. However, really intense tornadoes can sometimes travel over 100 miles.
• There can be ‘Tornado outbreak’ that is multiple tornadoes in a single day can occur.
• Tornado is classified on the basis of the damage caused using the Enhanced Fujita Scale.

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Conclusion – Facts on Tornadoes

Tornadoes are destructive rotating air columns that form during thunderstorms. Visible as funnel clouds, they can devastate entire areas. While most common in the US, they occur worldwide and are difficult to predict. Recent years have seen increased activity, highlighting the potential impact of climate change.

Facts on Tornadoes – FAQs

What are few points about tornadoes?

A tornado is nature’s fury unleashed: a twisting funnel of air reaching down from a thunderstorm to wreak havoc on the ground.

What is a tornado made of?

Tornadoes are made up of the following parts: Thunderstorm cloud base, Vortex of air, Dust and debris, Precipitation, and Bottom.

Where do most tornadoes occur?

The United States has the most tornadoes of any country, with an average of over 1,000 per year since 1990. The majority of these tornadoes occur in the Great Plains of the central United States, an area known as Tornado Alley.

What was the worst tornado in history?

The Tri-State Tornado of 1925 is considered the most extreme tornado in recorded history. The tornado was an F5 on the Fujita Scale, with wind gusts over 200 mph.

Who is the smallest tornado?

Rope tornadoes are usually the smallest and most common type of tornado. They get their name from their rope-like appearance. 

What are the rarest tornado?

Some of the rarest tornadoes include: EF-4 and EF-5 tornadoes, twin tornadoes and Wedge tornadoes.

How tall is a tornado?

On average, tornadoes are between 1,640 and 4,921 feet (500 and 1,500 meters) tall. This range includes the visible portion of the funnel from the ground up to the storm cloud.