Tornado

A tornado is an extremely violent revolving storm, caused by a rising column of warm air propelled by strong wind.

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The United States is the global epicenter of tornado formation with an average of 1,200 each year. It’s the result of a unique geography that allows hot, dry air from the Southwest to flow atop moist, warm, unstable surface air east of the Rocky Mountains, with cold air at the jet-stream level overtopping it all.

Tornadoes moving at speeds of up to 400 kilometers per hour/250 mph are common in the Mississippi basin of the USA and cause great destruction.

FAMOUS TORNADOES IN HISTORY

On October 17, 1091 a tornado hit London, demolishing 600 houses and William the Conqueror's newly built bridge. The tornado is mentioned in chronicles by Florence of Worcester and William of Malmesbury, the latter describing it as "a great spectacle for those watching from afar, but a terrifying experience for those standing near". Wind speeds of up to 240 mph are thought to have hit the city, causing widespread damage.

After the British set fire to Washington D.C. during the War Of 1812, a tornado appeared out of nowhere and put out the fire our saving the city.

The Tri-State Tornado of Wednesday, March 18, 1925 was the deadliest tornado in United States history inflicting 695 fatalities. The 151 to 235 mi (243 to 378 km) track left by the tornado was the longest ever recorded in the world as it crossed from southeastern Missouri, through southern Illinois, then into southwestern Indiana. 

Track of the Tri-state tornado

When the deadliest tornado touched down in Missouri, people were taken by surprise. This was because the word 'tornado' had been banned from US weather forecasts since the late 19th century due to hysteria. This mentality shifted after the tornado killed 695 ill-prepared residents.

In 1948, meteorologists at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City issued the world's first tornado forecast after noticing conditions similar to another tornado that had struck five days earlier.

One of the worst recorded tornado outbreaks in U.S. history was the April 3–4, 1974 Super Outbreak. It produced 148 tornadoes in 13 states and Canada, including 30 "violent" tornadoes, rated F5 on the Fujita scale. The outbreak killed 315 people and injured 5,484. The most destructive tornado was an F5 that struck Xenia, Ohio, killing 34 people and injuring 1,150. The outbreak also caused an estimated $1.5 billion in damage.

During the tornado outbreak of 1974, forecasters in Indiana, frustrated because they could not keep up with all of the simultaneous tornado activity, put the entire state under a blanket tornado warning. This was the only time in U.S. history that an entire state was under a tornado warning. 

The 1974 Super Outbreak was the result of a combination of factors, including a strong jet stream, warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico, and cold air from Canada. 

The deadliest tornado in world history struck the Manikganj district in Central Bangladesh on April 26, 1989. The tornado was estimated to be an EF-5 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, with winds of up to 200 mph. 

The tornado touched down near Daulatpur and traveled east, eventually striking the town of Saturia. It caused widespread destruction, killing an estimated 1,300 people and injuring more than 12,000. The tornado also destroyed or damaged more than 100,000 homes and left an estimated 80,000 people homeless. 

The southwestern portion of Oklahoma City was devastated by an F5 tornado on May 3, 1999, killing forty-five people, injuring 665, and causing $1 billion in damage. The tornado was one of 66 from the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak. This tornado also produced the highest wind speed ever recorded, measured at 301 +/- 20 mph (484 +/- 32 km/h). 

A tornado near Anadarko, Oklahoma, on May 3

American Matt Suter holds the record for surviving the longest distance in a tornado. Knocked unconscious by a twister in 2006, he came to 1,307ft (398m) away — the length of four football pitches — with only minor injuries.

The 2011 Super Outbreak was the worst recorded tornado outbreak in U.S. history. Between April 25–28, 2011 a record 208 tornadoes touched down in the Southern, Midwestern, and Northeastern United States killing 346 people and leaving catastrophic destruction in its wake. 

On April 27, 2011, a powerful storm system swept across the southeastern United States, spawning a massive outbreak of tornadoes that caused widespread destruction. In total, 317 people were killed in the storms, making it the deadliest single day for tornadoes in U.S. history since the "Tri-State" outbreak in 1925, which killed at least 747 people. 

The official record for the widest tornado is 2.6 miles (4.2 km), which was set by the El Reno tornado on May 31, 2013, in Oklahoma. The tornado was part of a larger supercell thunderstorm that produced several other tornadoes, including one that was rated EF5 on the Enhanced Fujita scale. The El Reno tornado was responsible for the deaths of 10 people, including three storm chasers.

FUN TORNADO FACTS

If you see a tornado and it is not moving side to side, this is a strong indication that it is moving directly towards you.

The inside of a tornado is filled with blue lightning, and many little tornadoes. The air is smooth, not turbulent, but hard to breath.

An hour-long, 8-mile-high tornado could produce nearly enough electricity from wind to power 20 American households for a year.

Three out of every four tornadoes in the world happen in the United States. It averaged 1,274 per year in the last decade while Canada reports nearly 100 annually.

The Netherlands has the highest average number of recorded tornadoes per area of any country (more than 20 annually), but most are small and cause minor damage.

Superheated plasma tornadoes near the sun's surface hit speeds of up to 190.000 miles per hour.