Tornado Narrative Essay

It seems like every year Oklahoma is hit by massive storms and tornados that kill people and wound many others. Although some may say Oklahomans are used to getting hit by storms and tornados, but the outcome is never something we get used to and this year, just like any other, we got hit. On May 20, 2013 an EF5 tornado started to develop and little did we know that this tornado would be talked about everywhere. This tornado did major damage to houses, towns, and buildings, but what got this tornado so much attention was that it tore through an elementary school, that was unprotected from tornados, and killed seven children. According to the National Weather Service’s Top Ten Deadliest Oklahoma Tornados (1882-Present) this specific

Tornadoes are devastating atmospheric events that affect the ecology and the lives of people in their paths. Tornadoes are defined as “a violently rotating column of air, in contact with the ground, either pendant from a cumuliform cloud or underneath a cumuliform cloud, and often (but not always) visible as a funnel cloud” (Glossary of Meterology, 2011). The Tri-state tornado was the most deadly tornado in the United States. It stayed on the ground for a total of 219 miles through areas of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, killed a total of 695 people, and an estimated $16.5 million in damages (National Weather Service, 2011). Luckily, the tornado’s path was largely rural farmland with scattered small towns between them. <Add thesis>

It was a seemingly normal, sunny day in Kansas. It did began to rain, but that was normal, rain happens everywhere. I still remember everything from what I was doing, and where I was at. This is the story of the tornado that ripped through my town in 2011.

What makes tornadoes and their destruction interesting to people? Is it the variety in formations, the miles one can travel, the random paths it takes, the changes tornadoes can make on climate and the formation of the land or is it because tornadoes often leave behind a path of destruction and deaths?

“Never that momma.” He says kissing her cheeks. Momma E turns to me, smiling to me as she came closer hugging me like I was one of her own.

Dustin was at home he wanted to see where Jimmy was. Dustin looked at his phone it started ringing. The words read, TORNADO WARNING GET IN YOUR HOUSES,AND TAKE COVER NOW. Dustin’s heart started pounding.”MOM,There’s a tornado.” then he remembered his mom said she would be working late. Dustin grabbed his coat,and put on his shoes and went out the door. It was very windy,and the rain was deafening. He could barely see ten steps in front of him. It looked like the air was polluted. The streets were flooded with water as he could barely walk.Dustin managed to see the alley,he tried to walk to the alley but the water was weighing him down. It was like a river,Dustin tried to stand up but then the water surged and he was rushed downhill with

May 18, 1925 began as a normal as a normal day for the people of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, and quickly spawned into a nightmare for many. The weather quickly changed to a storm thunderstorm around midday in Missouri that was capable of producing a tornado (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration[NOAA], 2000). However, due to the lack of technological advancements of the time, forecasters were unaware of the full potential of this storm. The tornado produced from this storm began small and appeared it might run its course very quickly. This was not the case at all. After a very brief remission, the tornado reared it ugly head and broke records, some of which still stand today. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), “That single tornado holds the record for: longest continuous track on the ground (219 miles); duration (3.5 hours); the third fastest forward speed (an average of 62 mph); and the greatest number of tornado fatalities suffered by a single U.S. city (234 in Murphysboro, Illinois)”(2000, para. 2). The Tri-State Tornado, as it was named, was later estimated to have reached F-5 status, killed almost 700 people, injured thousands more and devastated tens of thousands of homes and buildings during its trip from Ellington, Missouri to Petersburg, Indiana.

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.

One day it was a normal day when it got really dark all the clouds were getting together and when you herd the lightning go BOOM!!.And everyone was scared and they all screamed when there was a lot I am telling you a lot of WIND .It was really winded outside and when the ground started,to form into a little cloud shape and people know it was a tornado that was going to happens and it went all around the house and they all went into trash.

April 27, 2011 was pretty much D-Day for the south but mostly those who resided in Alabama. Tornadoes ripped through Alabama leaving fifty-three people dead and injuring a thousand in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama.” The tornado left five thousand three hundred and sixty-two residences damaged or decimated in its path” (Prohaska, 19). The storms pre-emptily ended the semester at the University of Alabama, and many students whose permanent homes were located outside of Tuscaloosa left the city without witnessing the extent of the damage in their college town. It was known as the 2011 Super Outbreak where the tornadoes caused 11 billion dollars in damage. The duration of the tornadoes were three days, seven hours, and eighteen minutes. In total there were twenty-nine tornadoes to go through central Alabama on the day

My mother pulled me aside. “Emily you need to calm your siblings down if we cause

A tornado is a very complex and complicated type of outdoor vacuum. The various types of tornadoes are caused when a great size of particles become part of cloud and start releasing heat rapidly which makes it rise and create a vacuum underneath it. The air that quickly goes into the vacuum creates the center of the tornado or the tornadoes vortex. Then when the air temperature changes it causes a sudden drop in the air pressure. When the heat is being released in the vacuum it causes precipitation. The rain released is equal to the amount of heat absorbed.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A tornado is a violent rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground. The most violent tornadoes can produce massive destruction with wind speeds of 250 miles per hour or more. The typical tornado moves from southwest to northeast, but they have been known to move in any direction. The average forward speed of a tornado is 30 miles per hour but it may vary from stationary to 70 miles per hour. Although tornadoes occur in many parts of the world, they are found most frequently in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains during the spring and summer months. In an average year, 800 tornadoes are reported nationwide, resulting in 80 deaths and over 1,500 injuries.

Tornadoes are one of the deadliest and most unpredictable villains mankind will ever face. There is no rhyme or reason, no rhythm to it’s madness. Tornados are one of the most terrifying natural events that occur, destroying homes and ending lives every year. April 29th, 1995, a calm, muggy, spring night I may never forget. Jason, a buddy I grew up with, just agreed to travel across state with me so we could visit a friend in Lubbock. Jason and I were admiring the beautiful blue bonnets, which traveled for miles like little blue birds flying close to the ground. The warm breeze brushed across the tips of the blue bonnets and allowed them to dance under the perfectly clear blue sky. In the distance, however, we

A tornado is defined as a violently rotating column extending from a thunderstorm to the ground. The most violent tornadoes are capable of tremendous destruction with wind speeds of two hundred and fifty miles per hour or more. Damage paths can be more than one mile wide and fifty miles long. In an average year, eight hundred tornadoes are reported nationwide, resulting in eighty deaths and over one thousand five hundred injuries. In the body of my essay, I will tell you about types of tornadoes, where tornadoes come from, where and when tornadoes occur, the damage they inflict, variations of tornadoes, and how to detect tornadoes.