TornadosTan

= Tornadoes =

Tan Block
Introduction Tornadoes are a rapidly rotating column of air reaching out from a thun﻿derstorm to the ground.(3) Tornadoes can have wind speeds of up to 300 mph and these winds can cause serious damage. (5) Dangers On average 60 people a year in the United St﻿ates are killed from tornadoes.(2) The strong winds can cause property and debris to be carried into the winds and hit other objects and cause damage. (2, 3, 5) Can it hurt people or property?

C ondition s ofFormation Tornadoes originat e in a thunderstorm's updraft which is the upward movement of air in a thunderstorm. (2)Thunderstorms develop in warm, moist air in advance of east moving cold fronts and these storms can sometimes cause tornadoes.(2) Thunderstorms form as air near the ground flows upwards toward higher land.(3) Tornadoes also need unstable, moist, lifting, and rotating air in order to form.(5) The air pressure inside a tornado can be up to 10% less than the surrounding pressure and this difference in pre ssure causes the winds to increase in speed.(5) The reason for the mid-west of the United States being a haven for tornadoes is because the warm moist air from the south converges with the cool dry air from the North. This forces the warm air up which creates the clouds and the thunderstorms which are capable of producing tornadoes. To rnadoes can also f orm over water because of the differences in temperature and humidity, which can cause winds. (3)Those tornadoes that originate over water are known as water sprouts.(3)

Historical Examples The F5 Waco Tornado hit Waco, Texas on May 11th 1953. The tornado traveled a total of 23 miles moving in towards the north/northeast. Since the tornado was hard to see coming due to rain, almost 600 people were injured, 114 people were killed and cost a total of about 310 million dollars worth of damage in today's dollars. While the tornado in Waco caused a lot of property damage the deadliest tornado wasn't in the United States. (All Above From 4)

A tornado in Bangladesh caused the most deaths, this terrible event took place on April 26 1989. That single tornado killed about 1,300 people. This storm was estimated to be roughly 1 mile wide and traveled 50 miles. The scale of this tornado is unknown due to no scientist being on hand. The amount of casualties could have been greatly reduced if those people had a better understanding of what to do in the event of a tornado. Another reason the death toll was so high is because of the path the tornado took, it went through the slums of the cities and towns where people didn't have well built homes. Along with all of these deaths around 12,000 more people were injured and 80,000 people where left homeless. This mighty storm completely destroyed the cities of Manikgaj and Saturia.(source's 6a and 6b used for all)

Top 25 Deadliest U.S Tornadoes (link) --> http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/killers.html Safety Tornadoes are one of the most dangerous weather conditions, luckily there are several ways to protect and prepare yourself from them. First of all if you are in an area which tornadoes are present then you should have a tornado shelter (3). A tornado shelter is a below ground room that will help keep you safe if a tornado is close by(3). A tornado shelter should be equipped with: a battery powered radio, flash lights, a lot of batteries, bottled water, canned food, blankets, a first aid kit, and a change of clothes.91) Additionally you should included any prescription medicines you need and other items to assist any elderly or anyone with a disability (mental or physical).(1) A tornado shelter should be a bit away from your house to lessen the chances of debris from your house falling on the door(3). If you do not have a tornado shelter then a basement is you next best option. (1)

=Classifying Tornadoes = Tornadoes are classified by their wind speed and the damage they can cause, this scale is called the Fujita Tornado Damage Scale or just the Fujita scale.(3) This classification system was created by scientist Dr. Theodore Fujita(1). The Fujita Scale is shown below. With as the scale of a tornado increases so does the damage it can cause. An F0 will break off small branches to trees and will damage chimneys(1). F1 tornadoes will break windows and can push over smaller sized trailer homes(1). F2 will start ti do more serious damage, it will peel back roofs of house, destroy trailer homes, and lift bigger trees out to the ground(1). An F3 will lift cars and push over trains, while an F4 throw those cars and trains and will also tear apart framed houses(1). F5 tornadoes are the highest grade people have experienced, it will lift a house out of its foundation and carry cars (along with other large objects) with it as it moves(1). A tornado in theory can move past a grade of 5 on this scale. It has yet to happen but it's winds could reach sonic wind speeds, because of these limitations in our knowledge of what a tornado of this magnitude we cannot know what damage it would cause(1). Links (1)Economic Impacts of Tornadoes(link) ==> http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/primer/tornado/tor_damage.html (2)Top 25 Deadliest U.S Tornadoes (link) --> http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/killers.html
 * = Scale ||= Wind Speed(mph) ||= Expected Damage ||
 * = F0 ||= below 73 ||= Little Damage ||
 * = F1 ||= 73-112 ||= Moderate Damage ||
 * = F2 ||= 113-157 ||= Considerable Damage ||
 * = F3 ||= 158-206 ||= Severe Damage ||
 * = F4 ||= 207-260 ||= Devastating Damage ||
 * = F5 ||= 261-318 ||= Catastrophic Damage ||
 * = *Greater then F5 ||= *318- sonic wind ||= *Unknown Damage ||

Sources List all the sources used in proper format (1) "Severe Weather and Natural Disasters: Tornadoes" [|www.teacher.scholastic.com] Web. 21.Nov.2010 < [] (2)"How Tornadoes Work" www.howstuffworks.com. Discovery. Web. 21 Nov. 2010. <[]> (3)"Tornadoes-Natures Most Violent Storms." www.nssl.noaa.gov. NSSL. Web. 18 Nov. 2010. <[]> (4)"The Waco Tornado." www.about.com. About. Web. 22 Nov. 2010.  (5)"Tornadoes Are Earth's Most Violent Storms." www.usatoday.com. USA Today. Web. 21. Nov. 2010. [] (6)"Daulatpur-Saturia Tornado" Web.26.Nov.2010 (a) [] (b) [] (7) Tornado Shelter Web.30.Nov.2010 http://www.texasshelters.com/ (8)Tornado On The Move Web. 18. Nov. 2010 http://swick.co.uk/index.php/2010/11/more-amazing-tornados/ (9) Top 25 Deadliest U.S Tornadoes Web. 29 Nov. 2010 (link) --> http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/killers.html (10) Tornado along with thunderstorm Web.30.Nov.2010 http://www.mywindpowersystem.com/2009/07/wind-power-when-nature-gets-angry-the-worst-wind-disasters-of-the-world/ (11) An F5 Tornado in Texas http://www.prairiepictures.com/media_resource_center_main.html (12)Waco Tornado Damage Web.30.Nov.2010 http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd/?n=wacotormay1953