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15 Scary Facts About Tornadoes

A tornado can be described as a violently rotating column of air that is one of the most devastating natural disasters on Earth. It consists of strong winds that can destroy homes, bridges, trees, trucks, cars and anything in its way or surrounding.

All tornados cause damage to property but it worsens with intensity. The most violent can cause extreme damage like uprooting trees and destroying large buildings or business establishments in an instant. It can even destroy trains or engulf water from a riverbed. Here are some 15 scary facts about tornadoes.

1.They can pull a person’s eardrum outward

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When one thinks about tornadoes, people automatically assume that they only destroy property and not human not unless they are trapped in the buildings or cars. While this is true depending on the tornadoes’ elements and properties some can be deadly to the eardrum.

From the low air pressure of a tornado, it can literally pull a person’s eardrum outward. It is therefore deadly and not to be messed with. In March 1925, three US states saw the biggest fatalities from a tornado on record where 695 people lost their lives in one single event.

2.Tornadoes can last from a few minutes to several hours

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There is no specified time that is standard concerning how long can tornadoes last, however from findings and research usually a tornado will only last for a few minutes, whereas others can last for several hours. There are cases where they disappear just as suddenly as it came.

3.Tornadoes can reach wind speeds of up to 318 mph

Most tornadoes have wind speeds of less than 100 miles per hour. If the wind speeds are powerful, they use the Fujita Scale, which is used to measure tornadoes, and label it as F5. This level can reach wind speeds of up to 318 miles per hour. Some tornadoes as recent as the Jan. 21-23, 2017 outbreak had short forward speed bursts of 80-90 mph.

However from research and written findings, the fastest tornado ever recorded had a wind speed of 280 miles per hour. In most cases, they usually have wind speeds less than 180 kilometres per hour (110 miles per hour), about 80 meters (250 feet) across, and travel a several kilometres (few miles) before dissipating.

4.Tornadoes are classified into various categories

There are five main categories based on the tornado’s strength and wind speed measured by the Fujita scale, which ranges from F0 to F5. It rates the intensity and each category comes with expected damages to man-made structures as well as vegetation.

F0, usually 40-72mph, is the mildest and the worst that could happen is the chimney is damaged or a tree branch is broken. On the other hand, F5, 261-318mph, causes a lot of damage to buildings vehicles and other violent destructions. Officially, the fastest-moving tornado was the Tri-State Tornado in 1925 with a forward speed of 73 mph.

5. Tornadoes largely affect the people living in the US than any other place on earth

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Reports indicate that three out of four tornadoes on earth happen in the United States. They experience the highest number of tornado occurrences on Earth. Statistically, more than 1,200 tornadoes happen in the US, annually as indicated by NOAA’s National Centres for Environmental Information.  

Tornadoes mostly strike along Tornado Alley which is stretches from western Texas to North Dakota. The area is a hotspot for tornadoes as the dry polar air from Canada meets the warm moist tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico

6.Most tornado activity occurs in the afternoon and evening

Tornadoes usually occur in the afternoon and evening, at 4pm or at 9pm because it’s usually the warmest and most temperate time of the day.  However, according to the National Severe Storms Laboratory they can occur at any time depending on the area and location.

7.Tornadoes can accompany tropical storms and hurricanes once on land

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Tornadoes consist of strong winds that can destroy homes, bridges, trees, trucks, cars and anything in its way or surrounding. These strong winds accompany tropical storms and hurricanes once they get on land.

8.Tornadoes come in many shapes and sizes

Tornadoes are violently rotating column of air that is one of the most devastating natural disasters on Earth making it difficult to make out its exact shape. However, some have an illuminating shapes originating from the base of the cloud with a cloud of rotating debris and dust beneath it.

9.They tend to group together

Tornadoes act differently and depending on the type and area, they have a habit of appearing in clutches.  When they group together they can be dangerous and cause a lot of damage as compared to a single tornado.

In 1974, over the course of two days in early April, a tornado occurred where they appeared in clutches of 147 different high-power tornadoes.  It caused severe damage to various homes and businesses across 13 different states in the US.

10They are transparent

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Tornadoes are generally large gusts of wind and therefore it cannot be seen. They are only visible after it picks up dust and dirt or if a cloud forms within the funnel. Without the dirt and dust, it would be impossible to tell when it’s coming.

11.A tornado can move a machinery weighing 30,000 pounds

Tornadoes come in different shapes, sizes, strengths and speeds. Each speed varies and can be measured using the Fujita Scale. The fastest tornado ever recorded had a wind speed of 280 miles per hour and the strongest winds ever recorded managed to move machinery that weighed more than 30,000 pounds.

30,000 pounds weigh a lot and which raises the question of how much can a tornado lift. A person could be easily lifted by the storm. Vehicles, trains, establishments and homes can equally be lifted and destroyed by the tornado.

12.They are not predictable

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Even with the development of different mechanism and different equipment, tornadoes are not easy to predict like any other weather like rain, windy day, sunny day or a cloudy day. After several researches, tornadoes happen after a feel of rain or lightning alongside spiralling columns of wind.

13.Tornadoes have touched down on every continent except Antarctica

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Usually, tornadoes happen in the United States but it is not limited to specific areas in the world. From research, there are no records that show there are tornadoes happening on Earth’s southernmost continent.

According to NOAA’s National Centres for Environmental Information, chances of an occurrence of a tornado in Antarctica aren’t impossible all it needs is a moist, warm climate. It’s just that a warm climate is hard to achieve in Antarctica considering the sun angle there.

14.They are often accompanied with thunderstorms

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Tornadoes are dangerous and deadly just as they are but most of the time they are associated with large thunderstorms. These thunderstorms often grow to over 12,000 meters (40,000 feet).  Scientists have not identified how the column of air begins to, but one way the rotation appears to happen is when winds at two different altitudes blow at two different speeds creating wind shear.

If this column gets caught in a super cell updraft, the updraft tightens the spin and it speeds up. The rain and hail in the thunderstorm cause the funnel to touch down creating a tornado.

15.Tornadoes can have a wide range of colours

Tornadoes are generally transparent are large gusts of wind and it cannot be seen. However, there can be situations where they have a wide range of colours. This depends on the environment in which they form.

If the tornado formed in a dry environment, it can be nearly invisible marked only by swirling debris at the base of the funnel, the condensation funnels that pick up little or no debris can be gray to white. At times, when the tornado is traveling over a body of water, tornadoes can turn white or even blue. Slow-moving funnels, which ingest a considerable amount of debris and dirt, are usually darker, taking on the colour of debris.

Tornadoes are generally interesting and as researchers develop new ways to measure tornadoes and predict them more information may reach the public and create awareness. Each tornado has unique properties that make them different from the other however they are all dangerous and depending on the strength they can be violent enough to destroy a house, a building or vehicles.