Top 10 Striking Facts About Tornadoes

Tornadoes are violently spinning columns of air that stretch from a thunderstorm to the ground. Tornadoes may demolish buildings, overturn automobiles, and generate dangerous flying debris.

A tornado can:

• This can happen at any moment and in any place.
• Winds of above 200 miles per hour are expected.

Tornadoes are some of Mother Nature’s most destructive forces. Capable of flattening entire neighborhoods and taking many lives, these massive, swirling columns of air pack winds can reach speeds of up to 300 mph.

Below are 10 facts about these dangerous natural occurrences.

Preparing for a Tornado

• Understand the tornado danger in your area. Tornadoes are more common in the Midwest and Southeast of the United States.
• Know the warning signs of a tornado, which include a swirling, funnel-shaped cloud, an incoming cloud of debris, or a thunderous roar similar to that of a freight train.
• Sign up for your neighborhood’s warning system. Emergency notifications are also provided through the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and the NOAA Weather Radio. If your neighbourhood has sirens, get to know the warning tone.
• Keep an eye on the weather forecast. Meteorologists can forecast when the circumstances are favourable for a tornado.
• Determine and practise getting to a safe shelter, such as a safe room designed according to FEMA criteria or a storm shelter built according to ICC 500 requirements. A tiny, internal, windowless chamber or basement on the lowest level of a solid building provides the next best defence.
• Make a plan for your pet. Because they are a vital member of your family, they must be included in your family’s emergency plan.
• Gather emergency supplies, cleaning materials, non-perishable meals, water, medical supplies, and medicine to prepare for a long-term stay at home or sheltering in place.

Staying Safe During a Tornado

• Go to a safe spot you’ve identified right away.
• For the most up-to-date emergency information and instructions, listen to EAS, NOAA Weather Radio, or local alerting systems.
• Protect yourself by wrapping your arms about your head or neck and placing things such as furniture and blankets around or on top of you.
• If you are in a car, do not attempt to flee a tornado. If you are in a car or outside and cannot get inside a building, cover your head and neck with your arms and, if feasible, cover your body with a garment or blanket.

Staying Safe After a Tornado

• Use text messaging or social media to interact with family and friends instead of making phone calls.
• For the most up-to-date information, listen to EAS, NOAA Weather Radio, and local authorities.
• Keep a safe distance from downed power lines or damaged utility wires.
• If you are ill and require medical help, contact your healthcare practitioner. Continue to shelter in place until further orders are received.
• Wear protective equipment such as thick-soled shoes, long pants, and work gloves while cleaning mould or other debris, and wear proper face covers or masks when cleaning mould or other debris.

1925’s Tri-State tornado

On March 18, 1925, one of the worst tornado outbreaks in recorded history produced at least 12 strong tornadoes and swept a vast area of the Midwest and South.

In total, at least 747 people were killed and over 2,298 were injured, making the tornado outbreak the deadliest in U.S. history, March 18 the deadliest tornado day, and 1925 the deadliest tornado year. On the same day, the outbreak produced many destructive tornadoes in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana, as well as significant tornadoes in Alabama and Kansas.

In addition to documented tornadoes, there were certainly others with minor impacts, the details of which have been lost to history.

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2013 El Reno Tornado

A massive and violent tornado struck rural portions of Central Oklahoma in the early evening of Friday, May 31, 2013. This rain-wrapped, multiple-vortex tornado was the biggest ever recorded, and it was part of a bigger weather system that spawned dozens of tornadoes in the days before it.

The tornado made landfall around 8.3 miles west-southwest of El Reno, quickly expanding in size and becoming more severe as it moved through central Canadian County.

The tornado did not strike many structures because it remained over mostly open terrain; however, measurements from mobile weather radars revealed extreme winds of up to 302 mph within the vortex; these are the highest observed wind speeds on Earth, ahead of the 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado, which had slightly higher wind speeds.

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The worst tornado outbreak on record happened on April 27, 2011

The 27 April 2011 Tornado Outbreak in the Deep South was part of a 3-day tornado outbreak (April 25-28), which was one of the largest, deadliest, and most damaging tornado outbreaks in US history. There were 343 tornadoes throughout these three days, with 207 tornadoes on April 27 alone.

On April 27th, four of the 207 tornadoes were EF-5. On April 27th, there was only one tornado – an EF-3 that crossed into northeastern Choctaw County, AL – out of the 207 that occurred across the NWS Mobile/Pensacola County Warning Area (CWA).

Although the majority of the NWS Mobile CWA was spared during this historic tornado outbreak, northern Choctaw County, AL certainly was not.

A regional view of supercell rotation tracks (courtesy of the National Severe Storms Laboratory) on April 27th shows the extent of the outbreak and just how far south it extended (clipping the northern portion of our CWA).

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Tornadoes have touched down on every continent except Antarctica

Although tornadoes aren’t limited to any specific part of the world, there’s no record thus far of tornadoes happening on Earth’s southernmost continent.

A tornado occurrence in Antarctica isn’t impossible, however, according to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.

“For tornadoes to form, there needs to be a moist, warm climate,” said Lavin. “That really cannot happen in Antarctica, considering what the sun angle is down there and how cold it is.”

Tornadoes can last from mere minutes to several hours.

Tornadoes can last from several seconds to more than an hour. The longest-lived tornado in history is unknown because so many of the long-lived tornadoes reported from the early-mid 1900s and before are believed to be tornado series instead.

Most tornadoes last less than 10 minutes. The average distance tornadoes have traveled (based on path length data since 1950) is about 3-1/2 miles.

Powerful tornadoes do occur in the northeastern U.S.

While tornadoes are not as common in the northeastern U.S. as in the Central and Southeastern states, the Northeast isn’t completely off the hook when it comes to experiencing strong tornadoes, according to Dr. Brian Tang, assistant professor at the University at Albany State University of New York.

“For example, an F5 tornado hit western Pennsylvania in 1985,” Tang said.

On May 31 of that year, a violent tornado outbreak occurred in parts of Pennsylvania; Ohio; New York; and Ontario, Canada.

Forty-three tornadoes touched down that Friday, inflicting more than $550 million in damage, Pennsylvania’s Mercer County-based newspaper, The Herald, reported.

Severe tornadoes in the U.S. can occur in both Tornado and Dixie Alleys.

While most people are familiar with Tornado Alley, the wide stretch of tornado-prone areas in states including Texas and Oklahoma, Dixie Alley is also known for deadly tornadoes across the Southeast.

Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, and North Carolina are some of the states that lie within this active tornado zone.

“It’s been a particularly bad area for tornadoes over the last 10 years,” Lavin said of Dixie Alley, which is where the infamous April 2011 outbreak occurred.

Spring is the peak season for tornadoes.

Tornado activity has a history of occurring mostly during the spring months, beginning in March. Tornadoes typically experience a peak occurrence between May and June, according to Live Science.

Historically, May is the most active month for tornado occurrences, with an average of 276 tornadoes occurring annually in the U.S., NOAA reported.

Most tornado activity occurs in the afternoon and evening.

Tornadoes can occur at any time, but they’re most likely to happen between 4 and 9 p.m., according to the National Severe Storms Laboratory.

“The Southeast sometimes tends to get more tornadoes at night, which is particularly dangerous,” Lavin said.

The US experiences the highest number of tornado occurrences on Earth.

With an average of more than 1,200 tornadoes annually, the U.S. leads with the most tornado activity in any country, according to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.

“Commonly in the spring and summer, including the winter occasionally, we get the winds that come off the Gulf of Mexico that provide ample moisture across much of the country,” Lavin said.

Ample moisture moving across the U.S. along with weather patterns causing winds to change help provide the right ingredients for tornado occurrences, he added.