Tornadoes

A tornado took Dorothy on a magical adventure to the Land of Oz, but in reality, you want to stay far away from a tornado. A tornado is a violent rotating column of air accompanied by thunderstorms.

Most tornadoes are formed by thunderstorms. Warm air from the Gulf of Mexico and cold air from Canada mixes together and creates an unstable atmosphere. Different wind directions and faster wind speeds create an invisible, horizontal spinning motion in the lower atmosphere, which sucks air upwards and turns the spinning air from horizontal to vertical.

Tornadoes are fascinating, but incredibly dangerous. Huge destruction can be caused by the most violent tornadoes. Wind speeds can reach 300 miles per hour. Large buildings may be destroyed, trees uprooted and vehicles might be blown hundreds of meters.

We still don’t fully understand how exactly tornadoes are made and how they die. Tornado researchers are still trying to figure out the details of tornadoes but it seems like for every detail they learn, a new question emerges.

Fun Facts about Tornadoes

• Most tornadoes last only a few minutes.

• Spring and summer are the main times for tornadoes to happen.

• Tornadoes sometimes create hail as well.

• The U.S. has over 1,000 tornadoes every year.

• A tornado generally looks like an elephant’s trunk.

• Tornadoes are also referred to as twisters.