Tornado+Notes

=** Severe Weather **=

** The Destructive Side of Nature **
=**//__ Tornado Facts __//** = == l  ** TORNADO- from the Spanish words, "TRONADO" meaning thunderstorm and "tornar" meaning to turn. **== == l  ** A tornado is the most violent atmospheric storm ... a powerful vortex which can spin faster than 300 m.p.h. ! ** == == l  **  The average forward speed of a tornado is 30 to 40 m.p.h., but can go as fast as 70 m.p.h. And has rotational speed that can be more than 300 MPH !! **== == l  ** Tornadoes occur mostly in May. January and February are the months tornadoes occur least. ** == == l  ** Scientists can't rate or know how strong a tornado is until after it is over. **== =**//__ FUJITA SCALE __//**= == l  ** The Fujita Scale, (also known as the Fujita Pearson Scale) was invented by Professor Fujita and Dr. Allen Pearson. **== == l  ** It rates the amount of destruction a tornado causes to buildings and other structures after the tornado has passed. It also measures the path width and the path length of a tornado. **== == l  ** The Fujita Scale rates tornadoes from F0 to F6. If a tornado doesn't cause any structural damage or very little, it's an F0. the more damage, the higher the F number. ** == =** The need for a new Fujita Scale **= == l  ** Over the years, the F-Scale has revealed the following weaknesses: **==

= = =**//__ è __//****//__ Tornado Formation __//**** (see ESS extras for Diagram) **=

=** è **** Tornado Sizes (see ESS extras for Diagram) **=

=** What goes up…Must come down. **= == l  ** The powerful updrafts inside a tornado can suspend tremendous loads of dirt and debris. **== == l  ** When the tornado weakens or dissipates, the debris cloud may suddenly collapse toward the ground, spreading horizontally away from the dissipating tornado. **== == l  ** A missile is any object hurled over 300ft. **== =** è **** The Most Dangerous Months (see ESS extras for Diagram) **= =**__ What to Look Out For __** = == l  ** If a tornado "__watch__" is issued for your area, it means that a tornado is "possible." **== ==<span style="FONT-SIZE: 14.5pt; FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings"> l  ** If a tornado "__warning__" is issued, it means that a tornado has actually been spotted, or is strongly indicated on radar, and it is time to go to a safe shelter immediately. **== ==<span style="FONT-SIZE: 14.5pt; FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings"> l  ** Be alert to what is happening outside: **== ==<span style="FONT-SIZE: 14.5pt; FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings"> l  ** A sickly greenish or greenish black color to the sky. **== ==<span style="FONT-SIZE: 14.5pt; FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings"> l  ** If there is a watch or warning posted, then the fall of hail should be considered as a real danger sign. [|Hail] can be common in some areas, however, and usually has no tornadic activity along with it. **== ==<span style="FONT-SIZE: 14.5pt; FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings"> l  ** A strange quiet that occurs within or shortly after the thunderstorm. **== ==<span style="FONT-SIZE: 14.5pt; FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings"> l  ** Clouds moving by very fast, especially in a rotating pattern or converging toward one area of the sky. **==

=**__ Where to Go __**=

<span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings"> l ** The best places are: **
==<span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings"> l  ** [|In a storm shelter specifically designed for that use]--within the basement or outside the home entirely. **== ==<span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings"> l  ** Some companies manufacture pre-fab shelters that you drop into a hole in the ground, and that blends in with home landscaping. **== ==<span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings"> l  ** In a basement, away from the west and south walls. **== ==<span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings"> l  ** Hiding under a heavy work-table or under the stairs will protect the family from crumbling walls, chimneys, and large airborne debris falling into the cellar. **== =  = =**__ Automobiles __**= = = ==<span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings"> l  ** If you are in a car, and you can see a tornado forming or approaching, you should leave the car and take shelter. **== ==<span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings"> l  **  You may think you can escape from the tornado by driving away from it, but[| you can't know what you may be driving into!] **== ==<span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings"> l  **  A tornado can blow a car off a road, pick a car up and hurl it, or tumble a car over and over. **== ==<span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings"> l  **  Many people have been killed in cars while they were trying to outrun the tornado, and although it is sometimes possible to escape, it is generally not a good idea. **== ==<span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings"> l  ** Modern technology in the building of cars (i.e. air bags, crumple zones etc) allows for a better chance of survival than in the past although it is still not the safest of ideas **==