Gourt > Science > Earth Sciences > Meteorology > Weather Phenomena > Tornadoes
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air which is in contact with both a cumulonimbus (or, in rare cases, cumulus) cloud base and the surface of the earth. Tornadoes can come in many shapes, but are typically in the form of a visible condensation funnel, with the narrow end touching the earth. Often, a cloud of debris encircles the lower portion of the funnel.
Tornadoes can be the most destructive storms on earth. Most have winds of 112 mph (180 km/h) or less, are approximately 250 feet (75 meters) across, and travel a mile (1.6 km) or more before dissipating. However, some tornadoes can have winds of more than 300 mph (500 km/h), be more than 2 miles (3 km) across, and stay on the ground for dozens of miles (more than 100 kilometers). Williams, Jack. "Doppler radar measures 318 mph wind in tornado." USA Today. May 17, 2005."Hallam Nebraska Tornado." National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office, Omaha/Valley, NE. November 2, 2005. Edwards, Roger. "The Online Tornado FAQ." Storm Prediction Center. April 4, 2006.
They have been observed on every continent except Antarctica; however, a significant percentage of the world's tornadoes occur in the United States. Perkins, Sid. "Tornado Alley, USA." Science News. May 11, 2002. This is mostly due to the unique geography of the country, which allows the conditions which breed strong, long-lived storms to occur many times a year. Other areas which often experience tornadoes are south-central Canada, northwestern Europe, east-central South America, South Africa, and south-central Asia. "Tornado." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006.
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Weather Reports
Storm Chasing :: Meteorology
2009: fewer tornadoes than average http://bit.ly/5qfBJ0
Weather_1 (Weather News) Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:13:11 -0000
2009: fewer tornadoes than average http://bit.ly/5qfBJ0
Tornadoes #1 and #2 have left the building. aka daughters
MrsHotMom (AnnMarie ) Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:03:33 -0000
Tornadoes #1 and #2 have left the building. aka daughters
@FrostinParties tornadoes? What a gay mascot. x) "Let's get tor up" sounds like they're insulting themselves. Haha
KirstenParties (kirsten parish) Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:50:02 -0000
@FrostinParties tornadoes? What a gay mascot. x) "Let's get tor up" sounds like they're insulting themselves. Haha
predicts tornadoes with Poisson Frequency Distribution and creates quadrat maps. Q.E.D. bitches... Maryland's getting a F2 in three years
AllieBanks (Allie Banks) Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:42:48 -0000
predicts tornadoes with Poisson Frequency Distribution and creates quadrat maps. Q.E.D. bitches... Maryland's getting a F2 in three years
@VanessaAlvarez1 No earthquakes, tornadoes or hurricanes.
Greg2dot0 (Greg Lowe) Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:12:05 -0000
@VanessaAlvarez1 No earthquakes, tornadoes or hurricanes.
Storm centers focusing on nighttime tornadoes http://bit.ly/5NWpQ5
Weather_1 (Weather News) Thu, 17 Dec 2009 10:59:33 -0000
Storm centers focusing on nighttime tornadoes http://bit.ly/5NWpQ5
A Waterspout off the Florida Keys - NOAA image of a rare, visible waterspout spotted in the Florida Keys, with explanatory text.
Meta Description: [ A different astronomy and space science
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April 3 1974 - Details on the Super Outbreak of Tornadoes that spawned 148 tornadoes, including thirty F4's and six F5's, in one day.
Meta Description: [ The Super Outbreak of Tornadoes that spawned 148 tornadoes including 30 F4 and 6 F5. Learn more about that incredible day. ]
Bangladesh and East India Tornado Prediction Page - A climatology of tornadoes for east India and Bangladesh, and the daily prediction of tornadoes are provided. Surface and upper air charts for historical tornado cases for Bangladesh and India are presented.
Meta Description: [ This page is devoted to the prediction of severe storms and tornadoes for East India and Bangladesh,and the development of tornado climatology for this region. ]
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FEMA - Fact Sheet - Tornadoes - Tornado safety tips from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
How Stuff Works: Tornado - Illustrated basics about tornadoes and how they are rated.
Meta Description: [ Tornadoes leave destruction in their wake. Learn why tornadoes rotate, how experts rate tornadoes and view pictures of damage caused by tornadoes. ]
Illinois Tornadoes - Tornado information and links with an emphasis on Illinois.
May 3rd 1999 Central OK Tornadoes - A comprehensive collection of links of the best of May 3rd sites. Both on the meteorological and human side.
Nature's Most Violent Storms - Information about tornadoes from the National Weather Service.
Online Tornado Museum - Electronic museum is an educational look at the tornado. Most of the exhibits are photographs with explanatory text.
Site Assessment of Tornado Threat - Informational site for Vortek's Site Assessment of Tornado Threat (SATT 3.0) software. Provides the user with a means of quickly and accurately displaying and analyzing tornado data for any portion of the United States, excluding Alaska.
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SPC Historical Tornado Data Archive - Tornado documents, graphs and maps compiled and sorted by state/territory.
Meta Description: [ Severe weather, tornado, thunderstorm, fire weather,
storm report, tornado watch, severe thunderstorm watch,
mesoscale discussion, convective outlook products from the Storm
Prediction Center. ]
Storm Chase News and Archives - A chronologically organized list of links to reports on and photos of individual tornado and other severe weather events.
Meta Description: [ A well organized list of current and past reports on tornadoes and other severe weather. ]
Tahoe Twisters - Rare photographic collection of waterspouts and home page for GARYK and his unique scenic photography.
Meta Description: [ Tahoe Twisters documents the largest waterspout ever photographed. GaryK a freelance photographer and storm chaser, uses unique images of unusual weather phenomenon such as watersspouts, cloud formations, even mysterious figurines appear in his scenic photography. Tahoe Twisters is a rare photo... ]
The Disaster Center Tornado and Severe Weather - Tornadoes, weather watchers, fact sheet statistics for every state, and links to the Disaster Center states pages.
Meta Description: [ Tornadoes, weather watchers, fact sheet statistics for every State, current tornado and severe weather probabilities
]
The Online Tornado FAQ - Roger Edwards of the Storm Prediction Center presents basic Frequently Asked Questions and the answers about tornadoes.
The Tornado and Storm Research Organisation - Independent and privately supported research body in the United Kingdom focusing on tornadoes and severe local storms.
Tornado Alley - Twisters, tornadoes and Storm photos with educational information.
Meta Description: [ Tornado Video, Photos And Stories Of Tornado Chasing. Important Tornado and Weather Facts ]
Tornado General Information - General Information on tornadoes, which includes safety tips and terminology page.
Tornado Links - This site has links to news and information about tornados.
Meta Description: [ This site has links to news and information about tornados ]
Tornado Project Online! - A company that researches, compiles and makes tornado information available to tornado and severe weather enthusiasts, the public, the meteorological community and emergency management officials in the form of tornado videos, tornado books, and tornado posters.
Meta Description: [ The Tornado Project is a small company that researches, compiles and makes tornado information available to tornado and severe weather enthusiasts, the public, the meteorological community and emergency management officials in the form of tornado videos, tornado books, and tornado posters. ]
Turn! Turn! Turn! - Scientific America's in-depth look at tornadoes, including multimedia simulations on how they develop.
Meta Description: [ Scientists unravel the twisted ways of tornadoes ]
USATODAY.com - Understanding waterspouts - A few articles summarizing waterspout formation, location, and safety.
Meta Description: [ Understanding waterspouts Waterspouts are simply tornadoes over water. But though they have a similar structure to some tornadoes, they form much differently. Waterspouts are common in tropical areas where thundershowers occur frequenty, such as... ]
Weather Reports - A searchable database of storm events from the National Climatic Data Center.
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