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The word tornado comes from the Spanish word tronada meaning thunderstorm. There are more tornadoes in the United States than in any other country in the world. An interesting fact is that all fifty states have reported tornadoes to have touched down. Tornadoes mainly occur in outbreaks or a bunch/a group. The most famous outbreak of tornadoes was the outbreak of April 3, 1974 which had one hundred-forty eight tornadoes in fourteen different states. Tornadoes take a long time to form and it's very neat |
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and complex how tornadoes form. Tornadoes start forming when warm, humid air is blowing in from the south. The warm, humid air is held below the warm, dry air blowing in from the west. Then the warm, humid air penetrates the warm, dry air eventually. This then forms a cloud. When the warm, humid winds from the south |  |
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| interact with the wind from the west, which is coming in faster, supports a mesocyclone. A mesocyclone is rotating air. When the mesocyclone is caught by a downdraft (a flow of air coming down from the cloud) a tornado then touches the ground. The pictures below are pictures of a tornado forming west of Hughes, Texas. | |||
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| The Fujita scale was invented to rate the intensity of the tornadoes. It is below. | |||
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LEVEL |
WIND SPEED (mph) | DAMAGE LEVEL | |
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F-1 F-2 F-3 F-4 F-5 |
73-112
mph
113-157 mph 158-206 mph 207-260 mph 261-318 mph |
MODERATE
CONSIDERATE SEVERE DEVASTATING INCREDIBLE |
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| Tornado safety is very essential to survive a tornado. These tips will help you survive. Keep an eye out for watches and warnings, and go to the basement if a watch or warning is issued for the area that your living in. Stay away from windows and protect your head and eyes. If you're in an open area, lay down in a ditch. | ||
