Tornado Facts

• A tornado is a rapidly spinning tube of air that touches both the ground and a cloudabove.
• Tornadoes are sometimes called twisters.
• Not all tornadoes are visible but their high wind speeds and rapid rotation often form a visible funnel of condensed water.
• The Fujita Scale is a common way of measuring the strength of tornadoes. The scale ranges from F0 tornadoes that cause minimal damage through to F5 tornadoes which cause massive damage.
• Most tornadoes have wind speeds less than 100 miles per hour (161 kilometres per hour).
• Extreme tornadoes can reach wind speeds of over 300 miles per hour (483 kilometres per hour).
• Most tornadoes travel a few miles before exhausting themselves.
• Extreme tornadoes can travel much further, sometimes over 100 miles (161kilometres).
• The Tri-State Tornado that travelled through parts of Missouri, Illinois and Indiana in 1925 left a path of destruction over 219 miles (352 kilometres) long.
• The Tri-State Tornado was the deadliest tornado in US history, killing 695 people.
• The USA averages around 1200 tornadoes every year, more than any other country.
• The majority of these tornadoes occur in a geographically unique area nicknamed ‘Tornado Alley’.
• US States most often hit by tornadoes include Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Florida.
• In 1989 the deadliest tornado ever recorded in the world killed around 1300 people in Bangladesh.
• In the southern hemisphere tornadoes usually rotate in a clockwise direction.
• In the northern hemisphere tornadoes usually rotate in a counterclockwise direction.
• A tornado that occurs over water is often called a waterspout.
• Weather radars are used to detect tornadoes and give advanced warning.
• Basements and other underground areas are the safest places to seek refuge during a tornado. It is also a good idea to stay away from windows.