Tornadoes - fact and figures
- Tornadoes are one of weathers most deadly and fascinating forces.
Tornadoes are also known popularly as “twisters”.
Tornadoes are particularly common in the central United States.
Tornadoes are most frequently reported east of the Rocky Mountains during spring and summer months.
Tornadoes are the most violent storms on Earth; violently rotating columns of air exceed 100 mph and can reach up to 300 mph.
Tornadoes are common in an area stretching from Texas to Iowa, the area known as Tornado Alley also covers Colorado, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Oklahoma.
Tornadoes are ranked by the damage they cause using the Fujita Scale.
Tornadoes are Deadly according to the National Weather Service, tornadoes kill 60 people per year on average.
Tornadoes are difficult to predict and often strike without warning.
Tornadoes are most often spawned by giant thunderstorms known as “supercells. Tornadoes are mostly found in inland areas with high convection rates.
Tornadoes are actually invisible since they are just rotating winds.
Tornadoes have recently hit South Africa and parts of Pakistan in 2001 as well, and on April 4 2006, a rare F2 tornado hit northwestern Israel, causing significant damage and injuries.
Tornadoes usually occur as part of a severe thunderstorm and often come in advance of cold fronts, however, they can also occur (although less frequently) ahead of warm fronts, and even behind cold fronts.
Tornadoes often form when cool, polar air travelling south eastward from the Rockies overrides warm, moist, unstable Gulf of Mexico air in the eastern states.
Tornadoes are unpredictable, immensely powerful and can destroy anything that lies in their path.
Tornadoes also occur in many other countries, including China, India, Russia, England, and Germany.
Tornadoes are the most violent storms on Earth.
Weak tornadoes, making up about 70% of all tornadoes, often have a thin, rope-like appearance.
In Canada, at least 80-100 tornadoes occur annually (with many more likely undetected in large expanses of unpopulated areas), causing tens of millions of dollars in damage. Waterspouts are tornadoes that form over water.
Although no state is entirely free of tornadoes, they are most frequent in the Plains area between the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains.
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