The Tornado Phenomena
Jun 21, 2009 17:45:33 GMT -8
Post by Jason on Jun 21, 2009 17:45:33 GMT -8
Ever since I was a young kid, about 6 or 7 years old, I've been utterly fascinated with tornadoes. I've studied as much as possible about tornadoes. How they form, where they form and why they form there. Unfortunately, for me, after all these years of studying tornadoes, I've still never actually seen one in person. The closest I've ever gotten to a tornado is a dust devil.
Tornadoes occur more in the United States than anywhere else in the world. Particularly, Tornado Alley. Tornado Alley is the mid-section of the U.S. The reason that tornadoes occur in this particular area, is because warm, moist air from The Gulf of Mexico collides with the cold, dry air from Canada. Thunderstorms tend to carry warm, moist air. When the warm air rises into the cold air, instabilities occur causing the cold cap of air to give way and winds to spin rapidly causing a funnel shaped cloud to form. When this funnel shaped cloud touches the ground, it is born a tornado.
Tornado Alley
Click to enlarge
Despite popular belief, tornadoes are not measured in size, but in damage. The higher the damage, the higher the ranking on the Fujita Scale. The Fujita Scale measured the intensity of a tornado based on damage. It was created in 1971 by Ted Fujita. A man widely considered to be ahead of his time in the study of tornadoes. In February 2007, the Fujita Scale was modified into the Enhanced Fujita Scale. It was modified to more accurately align wind speeds with damage.
The highest recorded wind ever recorded on Earth was just 10 years ago in 1999. The Oklahoma City tornado on May 3rd, 1999 had wind speeds as high as 318 mph. This tornado is widely believed to have been the deciding factor in modifying the Fujita Scale.
Tornadoes occur more in the United States than anywhere else in the world. Particularly, Tornado Alley. Tornado Alley is the mid-section of the U.S. The reason that tornadoes occur in this particular area, is because warm, moist air from The Gulf of Mexico collides with the cold, dry air from Canada. Thunderstorms tend to carry warm, moist air. When the warm air rises into the cold air, instabilities occur causing the cold cap of air to give way and winds to spin rapidly causing a funnel shaped cloud to form. When this funnel shaped cloud touches the ground, it is born a tornado.
Tornado Alley
Click to enlarge
Despite popular belief, tornadoes are not measured in size, but in damage. The higher the damage, the higher the ranking on the Fujita Scale. The Fujita Scale measured the intensity of a tornado based on damage. It was created in 1971 by Ted Fujita. A man widely considered to be ahead of his time in the study of tornadoes. In February 2007, the Fujita Scale was modified into the Enhanced Fujita Scale. It was modified to more accurately align wind speeds with damage.
The highest recorded wind ever recorded on Earth was just 10 years ago in 1999. The Oklahoma City tornado on May 3rd, 1999 had wind speeds as high as 318 mph. This tornado is widely believed to have been the deciding factor in modifying the Fujita Scale.
