The tornado is a column of air which rotates in a violent, usually counter- clockwise rotations in the Northern Hemisphere. Approximately 1 in 10 tornadoes rotate clockwise. If they touch the earth’s surface it is considered a tornado. If it does not reach the ground, it is not a tornado, but a funnel cloud. Both phenomena originate from the cumulonimbus thunderstorm cloud. It’s known for its destructive properties and there are hundreds of cases each year where people die as a result of a meeting with a tornado. There aren’t that many forces capable of as much violence in nature, not to mention the fact that they are for the most part, unpredictable. Their unpredictability is the thing that makes them so dangerous, because a lot of people are surprised by their appearance. Especially at night, it is even more dangerous.
The tornado is not a phenomenon that is found just in the US, but it is true that there are frequently found there, especially in the country’s Central Plains, during the spring and the summer months. During a normal year, more than 800 tornadoes take place there, which results in 80+ death and 1500 injuries.
The tornadoes in this area are started thanks to a combination of warm most air which originates from Gulf of Mexico, dry air which comes from the desert and cold air which originates from the north. Add to this the last ingredients, a powerful jet stream, and you get a super cell thunderstorm that can become tornadic. The measurement of the force of tornadoes is usually perfomed with the help of the Fujita Scale, which has its origins in 1971. Named after the researcher, Dr. Ted Fujita. The rating of the tornado is given by taking into account the amount of damage which vegetation and structures take. It goes from F0 to F5, from Light, to Annihilating.
The path of a tornado is determined by the originating storm cell. They are quite unpredictable, which makes them extremely deadly. Since there are a lot of things which come into play when it comes to the way the tornadoes are formed, it’s extremely hard to predict their formation.
