WHAT IS A TORNADO?

• A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud.

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WHAT CAUSES A TORNADO?

• Tornado conditions are caused when different temperatures and humidity meet to form thunderclouds.

Tornado Ally
Tornado Alley is a colloquial term for the area of the United States where tornadoes are most frequent. The term was first used in 1952 as the title of a research project to study severe weather in parts of Texas and Oklahoma.

EFFECTS TORNADOES HAVE ON THE ENVIRONMENT

• Tornadoes can have a devastating effect on the environment.
• A tornado can uproot grown trees,
• Spread diseases in the topsoil,
• Many wildlife also lose their lives in tornadoes.

New Richmond,Wisconsin. One of the most destructive volcanoes.

On June 12, 1899 in the town of New Richmond, Wisconsin. The destructive tornado completely caught the town off guard when the tornado hit late in the afternoon as the tornado itself was only visible a few minutes before hitting the town. People scrambled to find shelter and those who were unable to find shelter perished in the storm. Almost the entire town was completely destroyed by the tornado, destroying over 500 building and causing almost as much as $14 million in damage by today's standards. 117 people perished in the storm, 114 of which were from New Richmond. The tornado remains the most destructive tornado in Wisconsin history.

NUMBER ONE - THE WACO TORNADO - MAY 11, 1953

The deadliest tornado in Texas history struck shortly after 4 pm on the day after Mother's Day in 1953. It touched down north of the town of Lorena and began moving North-Northeast toward Waco. On a radar screen at Texas A&M University, the tornadic storm developed a hook shaped echo. Nearly 1/3 of a mile wide, the massive F5 tornado crossed Waco on a path that ran almost south to north, killing 114 persons and injuring 597. It destroyed around 600 homes and other buildings and damaged over 1000, including 2000 vehicles. Some of the survivors had to wait up to 14 hours for rescue.

Tornado season.
In the southern states, peak tornado occurrence is in March through May, while peak months in northern states are during the summer.

Tornadoes are most likely between 3 and 9 p.m. but have been known to occur at all hours.

A funnel cloud (generally the cause of a twister or tornado) is a funnel-shaped cloud of condensed water droplets, associated with a rotating column of wind and extending from the base of a cloud (usually a cumulonimbus or towering cumulus cloud) but not reaching the ground or a water surface.

A wall cloud (or pedestal cloud) is a large, localized and persistent lowering cloud formation that develops beneath the base of a cumulonimbus cloud that often forms tornadoes.[