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What is a tornado?
A tornado is a violently rotating
column of air extending from a
thunderstorm to the ground.
A thunderstorm is, in general, a local
storm, invariably produced by a
cumulonimbus cloud and always
accompanied by lightning and thunder,
usually with strong gusts of wind, heavy
rain, and sometimes with hail.
The typical thunderstorm is 15 miles in
diameter lasts an average of 30 minutes.
Of the estimated 100,000 thunderstorms
that occur each year in the United
States, about 10 percent are classified
as severe.
Is a tornado a
cyclone?
Yes, a tornado is a cyclone. But a
hurricane is a cyclone too. A cyclone
is a general term referring to an
area of closed circulation. While a
tornado is a type of cyclone, so too
is a hurricane, and even the big "L"
you see on a weather map. The "L"
on the weather map stands for low
pressure, but it is on a synoptic
scale (a large scale measuring
hundreds of miles or more), while a
tornado is on a micro-scale or
storm-scale.
Tornado
Alley
Weak Tornadoes
Strong Tornadoes
Violent Tornadoes
POSSIBLE DAMAGE
F0
40-72 mph
F1
73-112 mph
F2
113-157 mph
F3
158-206 mph
F4
207-260 mph
F5
261-318 mph
Deport, Texas
Hoxie, Kansas
Northeast, Nebraska
Number of Injuries:
Number of Deaths:
Number of Tornadoes
by Month
January
1
February
1
March
4
April
7
May
29
June
18
July
15
August
24
September
21
October
0
November
2
December
2
.
What is a waterspout?
A waterspout is just a weak
tornado that forms over water.
They are most common along the
Gulf Coast. Waterspouts can
sometimes move inland,
becoming tornadoes causing
damage and injuries.
What is a gustnado?
A gustnado is a short-lived,
relatively weak whirlwind that
forms along a gust front. A
gust front is the surge of very
gusty winds at the leading
edge of a thunderstorm's
outflow of air.
Gustnadoes are not
tornadoes. They do not
connect with any cloud-base
rotation. But because
gustnadoes often have a
spinning dust cloud at ground
level, they are sometimes
wrongly reported as
tornadoes.
Gustnadoes can do minor
damage.
Tornado Facts
1. Tornadoes may appear nearly transparent until dust and debris are picked
up or a cloud forms within the funnel.
2. The average tornado moves from southwest to northeast, but tornadoes
have been known to move in any direction.
3. The average forward speed is 30 mph but may vary from nearly stationary
to 70 mph.
4. The strongest tornadoes have rotating winds of more than 250 mph.
5. Tornadoes can accompany tropical storms and hurricanes as they move
onto land.
Tornado Videos