Tornado

Natural Disasters - Tornado

A tornado results from a thunderstorm. They are violent, rotating columns of air blown between 50 and 300+ mph.

Tornado's are usually in the shape of a funnel with a narrow end. They are extremely destructive. The word tornado comes from the Spanish word 'turned' which came from the Latin word torqueo which means 'twist'.

Tornadoes normally rotate anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere.

Tornados are formed where warm moist air meets cold air meets dry air. These circumstances don't always produce tornados though.

Most tornadoes last for less than 10 minutes.

There is an F scale to work out the significance of the Tornado.

A tornado sounds like a close by train: with a continuous rumble. Some tornadoes produce a loud whooshing sound.

Examples:

  • Oklahoma (May 3, 1999) winds up to 318mph

Tornadoes can cause serious damage, injury or death. One should always heed official watches and warnings.

Union City, Oklahoma tornado (1973)

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