Lab 8 Tornadoes

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Binghamton University *

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116

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Geology

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Dec 6, 2023

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docx

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Geology 116, Spring 2023 Name __________________ Lab 8 Tornadoes You can find a lot of information about tornadoes on the Online Tornado FAQ Page . We’ll be using a number of links from the page, but feel free to explore more! Section 1: Tornado Scale The intensity of tornadoes is generally measured in the U.S. using the Enhanced Fujita damage scale ( http://www.spc.noaa.gov/efscale/ ). This is modified from a less quantitatively based scale devised in 1971 by Dr. T. Theodore Fujita; the enhanced scale provides more accurate values of the wind speeds associated with different levels of damage. Tornadoes often occur in outbreaks, with multiple tornadoes being produced along one frontal boundary, sometimes close in both space and time. One of the highest number of tornadoes in an outbreak occurred when 412 tornadoes touched down between May 1 and 10, 2003. One of the hardest hit areas was near Pierce City, Missouri. 1) Use the links below and the storm path map and photos of damage to try estimating damage yourself based on the Enhanced Fujita damage scale. 2) Watch the video that shows examples of damage at various EF levels: . 3) Review the EF-scale, including the general criteria and damage results, as well as the illustrations below.
Damage at different EF levels, Greenburg KS tornado 4) Based on the descriptions and photos for these different levels of tornadoes, estimate the EF-scale number and description of damage for the photos from the May 4 2003 tornado outbreak in Missouri that are shown on the next page. City EF Estimate Wind Speed Est. Description of Damage Pierce City, MO 3 136-165 mph Whole building has damage. Cars damaged. Clever, MO 1 65- 80 mph Pretty much no damage except for some broken trees. Battlefield, MO 2 11-135 mph Roof not there but building is standing. Cars damaged and on top of each other. 5) Find information from internet sources about the effects of the tornado at the three locations listed on the next page. What was the full extent of damage? There were multiple tornadoes during the outbreak in the region. How did this tornado compare with others in the outbreak? Along this path there were hundreds of large trees uprooted and snapped off, many power poles were snapped at their base that caused numerous power outages, especially in Monett. Also, numerous brick and wood
framed homes, trailers, outbuilding, barns and other structures were severely damaged, completely destroyed or sustained minor damage. This tornado was worse than others in terms of damage and destruction. 6) Now pick another tornado and provide similar information about that event—in particular, the level, width, length, duration, any injuries and fatalities, extent of damage. To find information, go to the site out of Purdue University https://mrcc.purdue.edu/gismaps/cntytorn.htm . Limit the time to 21 st century tornadoes by filtering the years to 2000 to 2021. Then look for an EF5 tornado path (hint: check states like Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Kansas). Click on the start of the tornado path (the arrow at one end of the tornado path) to get the information for this event. Then look up the tornado (e.g. Wikipedia or simply Google a location and date) to get more details on the extent of damage, injuries, etc. May 25th, 2008. EF5, 2100 yds, 40.97 miles, 1 hours 2 mins, 9 fatalities 70ish injuries, extent of damage was “A third of the town experienced devastating damage with nearly 200 homes destroyed millions of dollars of damage. Section 2: Tornado Frequency Tornadoes occur across much of the United States, primarily the central and eastern States. The distribution and frequency of tornadoes—of any strength or EF rating—varies with space and time. Here you’re going to
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