Tornadoes
Objective: Describe, step by step, how a tornado forms.
Shawnee, Oklahoma Tornado and Moore, Oklahoma Tornadoes
A very dynamic and strong storm system brought severe weather across the Central United States this past weekend (May 18-19, 2013). The storm prediction center highlighted parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and parts of Missiouri into a risk to see severe thunderstorms on Sunday, May 19. This weekend had many dangerous storm that produced large hail, strong winds, and violent tornadoes. Wichita, Kansas and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma were extremely close to having strong tornadoes directly affecting the cities. These cities were spared, some cities such as Shawnee, Oklahoma were devastated as a strong tornado that damaged and destroyed homes in the area.
What is a tornado?
A tornado is a destructive, rotating column of air that has very high wind speeds and that maybe visible as a funnel-shaped cloud.
How do tornadoes form?
Step 1
Air rotates because of wind shear. One way the rotation appears to happen is when winds at two different altitudes blow at two different speeds creating wind shear.
Step 2
Faster spin makes a funnel cloud. If this colum gets caught in a supercell updraft, the updraft tightens the spin and it speeds up a funnel cloud is created.
Step 3
The funnel rotates and touches down. The rain and hail in the thunderstorm cause the funnel to touch down creating a tornado.
What type of scale is used to measure tornadoes?
The scale that is used to measure tornadoes is called a "fujita scale". This scale is used to measure the strength of the tornado based on the damage it causes. This scale is also known as the "F-scale" consists of six ratings from F0 to F5 with damage rated as light to incredible.The tornado can only be measured in the scale after it has occurred. Also, the tornado can not be measured if there is no damage when the tornado occurs in the area without any features to be damaged.
What type of damages did it cause in Shawnee and in Moore, Oklahoma?
At least 24 are dead and 240 more are thought to be injured after an enormous 2 mile wide tornado with 200 mph winds blasted Moore, Oklahoma on May 20, 2013, leaving an unthinkable trail of devastation in its massive wake. The twister is the latest in a string of deadly storms to rip through America's heartland, destroying parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Iowa.
What other areas were affected by tornadoes?
Most tornadoes or twisters in the United States occur east of the Rocky Mountains. The Great Plains, the Midwest, the Mississippi Valley and the Southern United States are all the areas that are affected by tornadoes. They are relatively rare west of the Rockies and are also less frequent in the northeastern states. Florida is one of the most tornado prone states. In Florida tornadoes only rarely approach the strength of the ones that occur somewhere else.
What states are included in "Tornado Alley"?
Tornado Alley refers to the area of the United States affected most frequently by the strongest tornados. The "heart" of the tornado Alley includes Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Tornado Alley extends from North Dakota south to Texas and east into Ohio, including parts of at least 18 states.
Conclusion
In conclusion, what me and my partner thought about this topic in tornadoes, is that they are scary and dangerous. Tornadoes can damage your home, kill people, and leave you with no shelter. We think that if you live in areas where there is tornadoes you should probably move out because they are destructive and very dangerous. What we think about these tornadoes that happened this weekend is that they were destructive and it was sad to know that there was many people that died.