Earth Science Class Vs Movie Twister Comparison

The Joplin, Missouri Tornado included many details common to Tornadoes. All Tornadoes are created by a series of rotating air from thunderstorms. Once a lot a rotating air combines a funnel cloud starts to form from underneath

In this paper, I will discuss what tornadoes are and how they form, what different forms of tornadoes there are, what tornado watches and warning are and give examples of tornadoes in Oklahoma and what destruction they caused, also while providing information about the Doppler radar.

What is a tornado?A tornado is a narrow, violently rotating column of air that extends from the base of a thunderstorm to the ground. Because wind is invisible, it is hard to see a tornado unless it forms a condensation funnel made up of water droplets, dust and debris. Tornadoes are the most violent of all atmospheric storms.Where do tornadoes occur?Tornadoes occur in many parts of the world, including Australia, Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. Even New Zealand reports about 20 tornadoes each year. Two of the highest concentrations of tornadoes outside the U.S. are Argentina and Bangladesh. How many tornadoes occur in the U.S. each year?About 1,200 tornadoes hit the U.S. yearly. Since official tornado records only date back to 1950,

A tornadoes form when it is humid but the ground is wet and slower winds are by the ground as the fastest wind are higher in the sky. Because of this the wind starts to circle around when the slow wind moves up higher. Rain will fall and so will a funnel which is the tornado. The reason twister in Florida left extreme damage and many houses were being fixed or covered with tarp. Today they are cleaning up the damage or debris all over town. Other places tornadoes have touched down resonantly are Virginia and North Carolina the worst one was the one in Carolina taking three lives. To not be one of those three you must find shelter once you hear the word "WARNING." if you hear "watch" then prepare to go into "WARNING." Pleas remember that.

Throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s the usage of the word “tornado” in forecasts was prohibited by the Weather Bureau because it was “felt that mention of the word tornado provoked undue fear amongst the public” (Corfidi, 2010). While the ban was lifted eventually lifted, little research progress had been made until 1948 when two US Air Force weather officers successfully predicted a tornado in Oklahoma (2010). The prediction of this event is what led to the establishment of the US Air Force’s Severe Weather Warning Center and developed into what we know today as the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) in Norman, Oklahoma (2010). Officially, 1948 was the beginning of tornado forecasting in the United States, and if we look at it from a prediction accuracy perspective it is still very much in its

How tornadoes form you ask? Tornadoes form when different winds from different places met and form this giant spinning destructive cyclone which can be powerful or only cause minor damage. Tornadoes form when hot air from different places and cold air from different places collides which can make a tornado at any speed,

What kind of atmospheric conditions could cause such a violent, deadly twister? The forecast from the morning of March 18, 1925 just called for “rains and strong shifting winds.” Guess they were accurate in that sense. Well, in the 1920’s the weather records were pretty vague compared to today’s records. There wasn’t as much information being generated and the forecasts weren’t very specific. However, with today’s knowledge and with the records there were we can construct what was happening in the atmosphere (National Weather Service, 2011).

Tornadoes are very complex natural events. The tornado has to be the right size so that the tornado can release the rain at the precise amounts. If the tornado was too small the tornado would not produce enough heat to create a vacuum. The height from the ground is also a really important factor in the creation of a tornado. This is because the higher up the tornado is from the ground the more air the tornado will have rushing into it. These are just some of the many factors that have to be exactly perfect for a tornado to be naturally created and sustain the wind speed required for it to be a tornado.

To continue, the two form in a different way. A tornado forms from a thunderstorm. The thunderstorm has to be very powerful. A hurricane forms from warm water oceans. On the contrast, a tornado is a rapidly rotating column of air. A hurricane is a combination of heavy rains, strong winds, and hug crashing waves (the waves can reach up to 70ft high.) According to meteorologist Spencer Adkins, he states that, "A tornado is just a few miles wide, while a hurricane can start at Miami, Florida and can go all the way to New York City!"

It is vital for the survival of mankind that we respect and understand the severity and danger of natural forces and weather conditions. Although advances have been made in the predictions and warning systems of the National Weather Service, or NWS, we must be vigilant in our efforts to always respect what is coming. It is also imperative that we learn from the mistakes we have made in the past and grow from them. One such piece of literature which can help to do this is "Storm Warnings: The story of the a Killer Tornado", by Nancy Mathis, which depicts an amazingly horrific incident where mankind was not prepared for what was coming. The following is understanding of the events that took place on May 3rd, 1999, which showcased an amazing, and terrible, spectacle of tornadoes in Oklahoma. Furthermore we will delve into what has changed since this to better our understanding of upcoming weather related dangers as well as planning for said forces of nature.

Tornados are one of the most destructive and devastating natural forces on Earth. When a tornado is fully created, wind speeds can reach up to more than 300 mph (483 km/h). Most tornadoes that occur are between the Appalachians and Rocky Mountains, but tornados can happen where ever the conditions are right. 90% of tornadoes that happen in the United States, happens in the Central United States. Even though scientist have not yet understood how tornadoes are formed, they’ve developed a theory that consist of the process and conditions of which a tornado must have to form.

The first thing that starts a tornado would be the winds. The wind updraft can form a funnel. This funnel is called a Mesocyclone and when the mesocyclone touches the ground it is considered a tornado. Clouds play an important role in forming tornadoes too. Some other clouds are called, Wall Clouds. These clouds protrude from the sky and look like a giant waves coming down about to crash on earth. When wall clouds form the sky might turn to a greenish color or some other color. This wall-cloud

Hurricanes and tornados are related in many ways. One such way is there appearance. According to Hammond, “A tornado can be described as cyclonic…” (Page 46, paragraph 1) Tornados are always cyclonic, yet in the Northern hemisphere they spin counterclockwise, and in the Southern hemisphere they rotate clockwise. This is very similar to hurricanes, as they move and rotate the same way. Another reason why hurricanes and tornados are similar is that they both cause a similar amount

Most tornadoes form from thunderstorms. You need warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and cool, dry air from Canada. When these two air masses meet, they create instability in the atmosphere. A change in wind direction and an increase in wind speed with increasing height creates an invisible, horizontal spinning effect in the lower atmosphere. Rising air within the updraft tilts the rotating air from horizontal to vertical. An area of rotation, 2-6 miles wide, now extends through much of the storm. Most strong and violent tornadoes form within this area of strong rotation.

To form a tornado the atmosphere needs to create an “instability.” The air closest to the ground will be warm, humid, and have south facing winds. In the upper atmosphere, the air will be cold with west or southwest facing winds. These two components in the upper and lower atmosphere together create the atmospheric instability. Another key component to form a tornado is wind shear. Wind shear is the change in wind speed and direction of wind while the warmer and cooler air are chasing each other around in the circle, creating the height of the tornado. (“Prepare for a Tornado,” 2017)