Since we were talking about tornadoes in a bottle, I thought tornadoes could be the topic for our encyclopedia passage.
Tornadoes
Tornadoes are tubes of spinning air, with winds hundreds of kilometers an hour. Tornadoes are formed in a thunderstorm, especially supercells, before touching down to the ground. Inside a supecell, two winds from opposite directions blow over each other, causing the air to spin. Then the air is knocked on its end by an updraft, causing a funnel cloud. Mesocyclone is the name for this area of rotation, and ranges from two to ten kilometers in diameter. The funnel cloud spins quicker, increasing the intensity. A downdraft, descending denser air, begins to pull part of the rotation, touching down and voila! Tornado!
Tornados are quite varied; they range from several meters to several kilometers in size. Also, the winds, which are the fastest on Earth, can be one hundred to five hundred kilometers an hour. The color, which is because of the dust and debris picked up, varies by the color of the dirt. Even the time tornadoes last varies- most last ten minutes, but stronger ones last about 25 minutes. All of this depends on how powerful the tornadoes are; tornadoes are rated on the Fujita scale. Here is a diagram from BrainPOP:
Tornadoes
Tornadoes are tubes of spinning air, with winds hundreds of kilometers an hour. Tornadoes are formed in a thunderstorm, especially supercells, before touching down to the ground. Inside a supecell, two winds from opposite directions blow over each other, causing the air to spin. Then the air is knocked on its end by an updraft, causing a funnel cloud. Mesocyclone is the name for this area of rotation, and ranges from two to ten kilometers in diameter. The funnel cloud spins quicker, increasing the intensity. A downdraft, descending denser air, begins to pull part of the rotation, touching down and voila! Tornado!
Tornados are quite varied; they range from several meters to several kilometers in size. Also, the winds, which are the fastest on Earth, can be one hundred to five hundred kilometers an hour. The color, which is because of the dust and debris picked up, varies by the color of the dirt. Even the time tornadoes last varies- most last ten minutes, but stronger ones last about 25 minutes. All of this depends on how powerful the tornadoes are; tornadoes are rated on the Fujita scale. Here is a diagram from BrainPOP:
Weak tornadoes, F1s and F2s, are the most common; only three or four F5s happen annually in the U.S.
Tornadoes can rip buildings, throw cars, wreck houses, basically causing a path of devastating destruction. The funnel cloud sucks things up before dropping them elsewhere. They move on the ground at 50 miles an hour, occasionally "hopping" or avoiding one house in its destructive path. Tornadoes are most common in Tornado Alley, the mid-western United States. Most form in spring or early summer when moist, warm air comes from the Gulf of Mexico, dry warm air from the Rocky Mt., and cool, dry air comes from Canada, creating thunderstorms that cause tornadoes. Here is a map of Tornado Alley from NOAA News:
Tornadoes can rip buildings, throw cars, wreck houses, basically causing a path of devastating destruction. The funnel cloud sucks things up before dropping them elsewhere. They move on the ground at 50 miles an hour, occasionally "hopping" or avoiding one house in its destructive path. Tornadoes are most common in Tornado Alley, the mid-western United States. Most form in spring or early summer when moist, warm air comes from the Gulf of Mexico, dry warm air from the Rocky Mt., and cool, dry air comes from Canada, creating thunderstorms that cause tornadoes. Here is a map of Tornado Alley from NOAA News:
If you live in Tornado Alley, or even if you don't, here are some tornado safety tips:
Tornado Tips
1. Listen for warning and watches on the radio or television. A watch means a tornado might form; a warning means one has formed.
2. Take shelter in a cellar or basement. If you don't have one, go to a room in the middle, first floor of your house without windows.
3. Stay there until it is clear to come out.
Meet The Family
Meet the relatives of tornadoes! First up, there is waterspout: A tornado that sucks up water since it is over a lake/ocean. They are less powerful than tornadoes (sorry, waterspouts, but it's true), rarely topping 50 miles an hour, though they can devastate boats and towns along the coast.
Let me introduce you now to dust devil: A tornado over a desert that sucks up dust and sand, about half a mile high. These don't do much damage with their less than 50 mile an hour winds (sorry, just stating the truth, dust devils)
Let's not forget the snow devils: they form in the high parts of mountains and suck up snow. There are also firewheels: tall towers of (you guessed it) fire, as well as smoke, caused by forest fires or erupting volcanoes.
Hope you visit these tornado relatives! (Actually, don't. I hear they're not good company.)
Tornado Tips
1. Listen for warning and watches on the radio or television. A watch means a tornado might form; a warning means one has formed.
2. Take shelter in a cellar or basement. If you don't have one, go to a room in the middle, first floor of your house without windows.
3. Stay there until it is clear to come out.
Meet The Family
Meet the relatives of tornadoes! First up, there is waterspout: A tornado that sucks up water since it is over a lake/ocean. They are less powerful than tornadoes (sorry, waterspouts, but it's true), rarely topping 50 miles an hour, though they can devastate boats and towns along the coast.
Let me introduce you now to dust devil: A tornado over a desert that sucks up dust and sand, about half a mile high. These don't do much damage with their less than 50 mile an hour winds (sorry, just stating the truth, dust devils)
Let's not forget the snow devils: they form in the high parts of mountains and suck up snow. There are also firewheels: tall towers of (you guessed it) fire, as well as smoke, caused by forest fires or erupting volcanoes.
Hope you visit these tornado relatives! (Actually, don't. I hear they're not good company.)
Fun Facts
- Tonare, which means thunder, is the Latin word that tornado comes from.
- 3/4 of the world's tornadoes are in the U.S.
- There was something called the Super Outbreak in 2011 with 322 tornadoes in 3 days.
- 219 mi. or 352 km is the longest tornado travel.
- 3.5 hours is the longest a tornado lasted.
- 73 mph is the fastest forward speed of a tornado.
- Air pollution may increase the risk that tornadoes will form.
- 519 is the record for the most deaths because of a tornado in a year (1953).
- 3 to 7 p.m. is the most common tornado time.
Hope you enjoyed this tornado passage!
- Tonare, which means thunder, is the Latin word that tornado comes from.
- 3/4 of the world's tornadoes are in the U.S.
- There was something called the Super Outbreak in 2011 with 322 tornadoes in 3 days.
- 219 mi. or 352 km is the longest tornado travel.
- 3.5 hours is the longest a tornado lasted.
- 73 mph is the fastest forward speed of a tornado.
- Air pollution may increase the risk that tornadoes will form.
- 519 is the record for the most deaths because of a tornado in a year (1953).
- 3 to 7 p.m. is the most common tornado time.
Hope you enjoyed this tornado passage!
Sources:
"Weather" by Dan Green, Basher Basics
"Twister Trouble" by Scholastic, The Magic School Bus Chapter Book series
"Twisters and Other Terrible Storms" by Will and Mary Pope Osborne, Magic Tree House Research Guide
"Tornadoes" on BrainPOP
"Weather" by Dan Green, Basher Basics
"Twister Trouble" by Scholastic, The Magic School Bus Chapter Book series
"Twisters and Other Terrible Storms" by Will and Mary Pope Osborne, Magic Tree House Research Guide
"Tornadoes" on BrainPOP