Tornadoes
What is a tornado
A tornado is a destructive column of air that extends from cumulonimbus clouds during a storm and when it hits the ground it can be merciless. The tornado’s wind speeds can be up to 482km/h and are so fierce that it can crush buildings and shelters and even uproot trees. Approximately 1000 tornadoes are reported every year.
Causes
Tornadoes are formed when wind blows at different heights and at different speeds make a horizontal rotating Column of air. If the column gets caught in a super cell updraft it becomes a funnel cloud. The rain and hail storm cause the funnel cloud to touch down onto the ground which causes a tornado.
Effects
Once the tornado vanishes it would have destroyed most of the houses, killed people and could cost heaps of money. But in places where tornadoes often occur they would have to have built special tornado safe houses. After the tornado, the place has to do a big clean up and that could cost millions, even billions! Here is an example: The "Tri-State Tornado" killed 695 people and injured 2,027, traveling more than 482km through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana on March 18, 1925. It was rated an F5 on the Fujita scale.