Nature's Most Violent Storms! Spawned from powerful thunderstorms, tornadoes can cause fatalities and devastate a neighborhood in seconds. Tornadoes must always be taken seriously, can be very dangerous, sometimes even deadly.

They come from powerful thunderstorms and appear as rotating, funnel-shaped clouds. Tornado winds can reach 300 miles per hour. They cause damage when they touch down on the ground. They can damage an area one mile wide and 50 miles long.

Tornadoes can form any time of the year, but the season runs from March to August. The ability to predict tornadoes is limited. Usually a community will have at least a few minutes warning. The most important thing to do is TAKE SHELTER when a tornado is nearby.

Tornadoes come in many sizes but are typically in the form of a visible condensation funnel, whose narrow end touches the earth and is often encircled by a cloud of debris. A tornado appears as a rotating, funnel-shaped cloud that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground with whirling winds that can reach 300 miles per hour. Damage paths can be in excess of one mile wide and 50 miles long. Every state is at some risk from this hazard.

In an average year, 800 tornadoes are reported nationwide, resulting in 80 deaths and over 1,500 injuries. Tornadoes may appear nearly transparent until dust and debris are picked up. Occasionally, two or more tornadoes may occur at the same time.

The average tornado moves from southwest to northeast. In the late 1980's, a tornado swept through Yellowstone National Park leaving a path of destruction up and down a 10,000 ft. mountain. Once a tornado in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, carried a motel sign 30 miles and dropped it in Arkansas!

Tornadoes occasionally accompany tropical storms and hurricanes that move over land. Tornadoes are most common to the right and ahead of the path of the storm center as it comes onshore.

Thunderstorms develop in warm, moist air in advance of eastward-moving cold fronts. These thunderstorms often produce large hail, strong winds, and tornadoes. Tornadoes in the winter and early spring are often associated with strong, frontal systems that form in the Central States and move east. Occasionally, large outbreaks of tornadoes occur with this type of weather pattern. Several states may be affected by numerous severe thunderstorms and tornadoes.

How do tornadoes form? Before thunderstorms develop, a change in wind direction and an increase in wind speed with increasing height creates an invisible, horizontal spinning effect in the lower atmosphere. Rising air within the updraft tilts the rotating air from horizontal to vertical. An area of rotation, 2-6 miles wide, now extends through much of the storm. Most strong and violent tornadoes form within this area of strong rotation.

What To Listen For...
TORNADO WATCH: Tornadoes are possible in your area.
Remain alert for approaching storms.

TORNADO WARNING: A tornado has been sighted or indicated
by weather radar. If a tornado warning is issued for your area and
the sky becomes threatening, move to your place of safety.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH: Severe thunderstorms are
possible in your area.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING:
Severe thunderstorms are occurring.

If a Warning is issued or if threatening weather approaches, in a home or building, move to a pre-designated shelter, such as a basement. If an underground shelter is not available, move to an interior room or hallway on the lowest floor and get under a sturdy piece of furniture. Stay away from windows. Get out of automobiles. Do not try to outrun a tornado in your car; instead, leave it immediately. Mobile homes, even if tied down, offer little protection from tornadoes and should be abandoned.

Tired of tornadoes? Move to Kingman, Arizona where tornadoes are extremely rare.