Basic Overview Of Tornados

Camilla, Ga. -- Disaster crews clean up at a chicken farm that sustained a direct hit from an F3 tornado on February 14.
Camilla, Ga. -- Disaster crews clean up
at a chicken farm that sustained a direct
hit from an F3 tornado on February 14.
Picture Courtesy of FEMA

The bad news is, there is an annual average of 1,000 tornadoes in the United States, and more instances of severe weather than any other country.

The good news is, the accuracy of tornado warnings has increased greatly, and lead-time for tornado warnings has doubled to 10 minutes since the mid-1980s. This is due mostly to improved radar and satellites. In fact, over three billion man-hours are spent under tornado watches in the United States each year, with a tornado occurring in more than half the watch areas issued. This is in spite of the fact that while a tornado watch may be given for today, or possibly tomorrow; there is no such thing as a long-range severe storm or tornado forecast.

According to the dictionary, a tornado is, "a rotating column of air usually accompanied by a funnel-shaped downward extension of a cumulonimbus cloud and having a vortex several hundred yards in diameter whirling destructively at speeds of up to 500 miles (800 kilometers) per hour."

What the dictionary doesnt tell us is that each year, tornadoes and hurricanes are responsible for millions of dollars in property damage, injury and loss of lives. Tornadoes can strike virtually anywhere in the United States with little or no warning, while in a matter of days, a hurricane can strike the Gulf or Atlantic states, devastating hundreds of miles of coastline, and wreaking havoc hundreds of more miles inland.

Review the Fujita Tornado Scale and Level of Damage

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