Tornadoes are among the most dangerous storms on Earth and, as meteorologists strive to protect vulnerable populations through early warning, it helps to classify storms by severity and potential damage. Tornadoes were originally rated on the Fujita Scale, named for its inventor, University of Chicago meteorologist T. The winds rotate because the wind speed and …
Where Tornadoes Happen Most tornadoes are found in the Great Plains of the central United States – an ideal environment for the formation of severe thunderstorms. In this area, known as Tornado Alley, storms are caused when dry cold air moving south from Canada meets warm moist air traveling north from the Gulf of Mexico. …
Most years, injuries and deaths from tornadoes are far worse than from hurricanes. In 2015 they caused 36 deaths, nearly double the number of deaths from hurricanes. Winds from tornadoes can reach up to 200 miles per hour, far more than almost any hurricane, even at its peak. Most years, injuries and deaths from tornadoes …
Tornadoes occur in many parts of the world, including Australia, Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. Even New Zealand reports about 20 tornadoes each year. Two of the highest concentrations of tornadoes outside the U. Are Argentina and Bangladesh. The majority of recorded tornadoes do occur in the United States; however, tornadoes have been observed …
The United States leads as the country with the highest number of tornadoes. Canada experiences the highest number of tornadoes after the United States. A question we ran across in our research was “Where do tornadoes occur mostly and why?”. One article stated that most tornadoes are found in the Great Plains of the central …
The truth is that tornadoes are very rare outside the United States. Around 1,200 tornadoes form in the United States in an average year. This is over ten times the second highest country, Canada, which averages around 100 per year. Violent tornadoes, those rated highest on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, occur almost solely in the …
The deadliest tornado recorded in U. History was the Tri-State Tornado, which struck Missouri, Illinois and Indiana in 1925. According to the National Weather Service, at least 695 people died, 2,000 people were injured and 15,000 homes were destroyed in a storm that cut across the three states over three and a half hours. What …
Usually, tornadoes in the U., and rotate counterclockwise. Coriolis force, imparted due to the Earth’s rotation, causes air around low centers to circulate counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere. Thus, tornadoes, being an outgrowth of these rotating updrafts, tend to spin counterclockwise. Let us dig a little deeper. tornadoes do not. Tornadoes are caused by the …
Those who are hard of hearing might not hear the warning at all. The distinctive wailing sound of the tornado siren is designed to interject itself into whatever is going on so people are forced to pay attention to it and take action. When I was writing we ran into the question “Why do we …
Winter Even in winter, when cold air surrenders its battles in the south and warm air can surge northward to meet the jet stream overhead, tornadoes can occur. These penetrations of warm air occur most often in the South, and this is where most tornadoes occur in January and February. Can tornadoes occur in winter? …
