History UsefulNotes / Tornadoes

Tornadoes are quite possibly the most spectacular and destructive of all meteorological phenomena. They are taller than skyscrapers and wider than football fields. Despite their size, they can move very fast. Although they’re made of just air and water, their erratic movement and the capricious nature of their destructiveness can at times make them seem to be driven by an inscrutable will of their own beyond the ken of mortal man. The way they twist and writhe as they move adds to this illusion of life. They are surrounded by myths of both the urban and traditional variety. As far as observable natural phenomena go, tornadoes are probably the closest things in real life to {{Eldritch Abomination}}s. Thus it is quite common for them to show up in fiction.

** A FC (Funnel Cloud) rating is designated to anything with wind speeds below 38 mph, but is usually determined by tornadic events that have not reached the ground.

** Note that these terms are all relative: a "weak" tornado can still pose a serious threat under the right circumstances. Also note that just because a tornado is "violent" does not mean it will actually cause any human casualties, although a tornado at that strength certainly has a high potential to do so.
* The TORRO scale, abbreviated as "T", is mainly used in Europe. This one is somewhat more detailed, ranging from T0 to T11. Technically, this is a true wind speed scale rather than a damage scale (which is what the Fujita scale is), although in practice damage surveys are still the main method of determining the rating.

* The EF scale still suffers the problem of US-centrism, since it was designed with American building codes in mind. Although an "International Fujita scale" (IF) has been proposed by the European Severe Storms Laboratory, it remains relatively obscure.

** An [[http://www.srh.noaa.gov/images/mlb/surveys/012210/Viera_CraneCk1.jpg EF0]] has wind speeds ranging from 65 to 85 mph.
** An [[http://www.srh.noaa.gov/images/mlb/surveys/092007/pic1.jpg EF1]] ranges from 86 to 110 mph.
** An [[http://www.crh.noaa.gov/images/lsx/recent_event/06_08_2009/ef2damage_2.JPG EF2]] ranges from 111 to 135 mph.
** An [[http://www.crh.noaa.gov/images/ict/wxstory/2012/april14th/damage/sg/Oaklawn26.JPG EF3]] ranges from 136 to 165 mph.
** An [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/EF4_tornado_damage_example_2.jpg EF4]] ranges from 166 to 200 mph.
** An [[http://edudemic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/joplin-missouri.jpg EF5]] is any tornado with winds above 200 mph.

** It varies a lot really, but as for their shape, there are three common categories: [[http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5100/5429846368_b97410edea_o.jpg Rope]], [[https://goo.gl/images/RHCxtZ Stovepipe]], and [[http://www.sky-chaser.com/image/mwcl2013/m14tor14.jpg Wedge]]. A tornado will often change shape during its existence, and most will eventually end up as a rope tornado near the end (this is called "Roping Out"). Their color depends on two factors, the color of whatever the tornado picks up, and the direction it is viewed from. A tornado's funnel cloud is not always clearly visible either -- it can be blocked from sight by the rain falling from the associated thunderstorm ("rain-wrapped") or simply not dense enough to see easily. That's right. There is such a thing as an ''[[InvisibleMonsters invisible tornado]]''.

*** '''''EXTREMELY FALSE''''': As mentioned above, a tornado can happen '''''anywhere,''''' whether in Tornado Alley, in the mountains, Europe, Kalamazoo, your grandma's house, etc. Even the ''ocean'' isn't safe from tornadoes, though they typically go by "waterspouts" when on water.

*** '''IF YOU ARE IN A MOBILE HOME, ''GET OUT IMMEDIATELY.'' ''' The unfortunate fact about mobile homes is that their main advantages (low cost and lightweight enough to be readily transported to a new location) make them '' '''VERY''' '' dangerous places to be in a tornado, and even the smallest tornado can tear one apart with little trouble. If your mobile home is in the path of a tornado, '''leave''', and put on your helmet as you go. Then, head to the nearest underground space or fixed structure and get inside, or head into the closest ditch if there isn't anything else nearby. If you have more lead time (20-30 minutes of warning) driving out of the storm's path is a better idea than a ditch. Despite previous advice to the contrary, you even have a better chance of surviving ''driving away from the tornado in a vehicle'' or ''outside in a ditch'' than you do in a mobile home. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis GET. OUT.]] Unless, of course, you have an underground shelter built under or next to the mobile home, in which case get down into it.

*** '''IF YOU ARE IN A MOBILE HOME, ''GET OUT IMMEDIATELY.'' ''' Put on your helmet as you are doing so. Then, head to the nearest underground space or fixed structure and get inside, or head into the closest ditch if there isn't anything else nearby. If you have more lead time (20-30 minutes of warning) driving out of the storm's path is a better idea than a ditch. Mobile homes are '' '''VERY''' '' dangerous places to be in a tornado, and can be destroyed by even the smallest ones. Despite previous advice to the contrary, you even have a better chance of surviving ''driving away from the tornado in a vehicle'' or ''outside in a ditch'' than you do in a mobile home. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis GET. OUT.]] Unless, of course, you have an underground shelter built under or next to the mobile home, in which case get down into it.

*** '' '''REMAIN CALM!''' '' Freaking out will make things worse, and will get in the way of your ability to make decisions.

*** ''' ''FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STAY AWAY FROM DOWNED POWER LINES!!!'' ''' They don't flash and spark like in the movies.

*** '''DO NOT LEAVE YOUR HOUSE!''' Unless you are in a mobile home OR the tornado is already wiping fixed structures from their foundations elsewhere, your best bet is to stay put. Leaving a fixed structure will only '''increase''' the chances of you getting killed in anything below an [=EF5=]. A storm capable of spawning a tornado will also be capable of producing rain in mass quantities, high winds, and hail. Flash floods are also possible.

-->-- '''Carrie Underwood, "Blown Away"'''

Also, the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates and Canada (and northern UsefulNotes/{{Mexico}}) aren't the only parts of the world that see tornadoes. The country with the highest number of tornadoes per unit area? It's either ''UsefulNotes/TheNetherlands'' or the ''[[UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom UK]]'', depending on the source. Other parts of the world that see reasonably frequent tornadoes are the rest of Europe, UsefulNotes/SouthAfrica, the Río de la Plata basin in UsefulNotes/SouthAmerica, the Ganges River basin of South Asia, eastern UsefulNotes/{{China}}, UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}, Korea, the UsefulNotes/Philippines, UsefulNotes/{{Australia}}, and UsefulNotes/NewZealand.

Also, the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates and Canada (and northern UsefulNotes/{{Mexico}}) aren't the only parts of the world that see tornadoes. The country with the highest number of tornadoes per unit area? It's either ''UsefulNotes/TheNetherlands'' or the ''[[UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom UK]]'', depending on the source. Other parts of the world that see reasonably frequent tornadoes are the rest of Europe, UsefulNotes/SouthAfrica, the Río de la Plata basin in UsefulNotes/SouthAmerica, the Ganges River basin of South Asia, eastern UsefulNotes/{{China}}, UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}, Korea, UsefulNotes/ThePhilippines, UsefulNotes/{{Australia}}, and UsefulNotes/NewZealand.

Also, the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates and Canada (and northern UsefulNotes/{{Mexico}}) aren't the only parts of the world that see tornadoes. The country with the highest number of tornadoes per unit area? It's either ''UsefulNotes/TheNetherlands'' or the ''[[UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom UK]]'', depending on the source. Other parts of the world that see reasonably frequent tornadoes are the rest of Europe, UsefulNotes/SouthAfrica, the Río de la Plata basin in UsefulNotes/SouthAmerica, the Ganges River basin of South Asia, eastern UsefulNotes/{{China}}, UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}, Korea, UsefulNotes/ThePhilippines, UsefulNotes/{{Australia}}, and UsefulNotes/NewZealand.

** The April 25–28, '''2011 Super Outbreak'''. This outbreak consisted of 134 [=EF0s=], 140 [=EF1s=], 49 [=EF2s=], 22 [=EF3s=], 11 [=EF4s=], and 4 [=EF5s=], for a grand total of 360 tornadoes. Tornadoes were reported from UsefulNotes/{{Texas}} all the way north through to UsefulNotes/{{Michigan}}, UsefulNotes/{{New York|State}}, and even into [[UsefulNotes/{{CanadianProvincesAndTerritories Ontario]]. It also set records for most tornadoes recorded on a single calendar day and any 24-hour period in a single outbreak. Measured by US Central Time, 216 touched down on April 27, and 219 touched down from 12:40 am on April 27 to 12:40 am on April 28.

* ''' The Fujita Scale''' or '''F-Scale''' was developed by Dr. Ted Fujita as a way to equate certain amounts of damage with a tornado's wind speed. Implemented in 1971, it ranked tornadoes on a six-point scale from 0 to 5. It was a good idea, but it had some major problems, such as its inability to take into account how different structures handle being struck by a tornado or that the evaluation of the damage itself was very subjective. On February 1, 2007, the F-Scale was replaced with the Enhanced Fujita Scale, but only in the United States for a period of time; Canada didn't switch over until April 1, 2013. Any tornado that was previously ranked using the Fujita Scale was not reevaluated post-switchover, so a tornado that was ranked as an F3 in 1997 (for instance) would remain an F3, regardless of whether or not its damage would have justified a higher, lower, or similar rating on the EF-Scale.

* Wikipedia has an extensive page on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_myths tornado myths]].

*** '''FALSE.''' In the US alone, every single state has recorded at least two tornadoes since 1950 (Alaska is the "two"). While this is a half-truth in that ''generally,'' tornadoes, say, in California are rare and generally under [=EF2=] if that, they can and do happen there, and weaker tornadoes aren't nothing to ignore especially in areas unprepared for them, because said areas often have more glass in more places, weaker building codes for wind, and the like. An [=EF0=] or [=EF1=] that becomes a whirlwind of glass in a populated open area with no one sheltering can be as if not more deadly than an [=EF3=] with everyone in proper shelters or that only hits vacant areas.\\

Also, the US and Canada (and northern Mexico) aren't the only parts of the world that see tornadoes. The country with the highest number of tornadoes per unit area? It's either the ''Netherlands'' or the ''UK'', depending on the source. Other parts of the world that see reasonably frequent tornadoes are the rest of Europe, South Africa, the Río de la Plata basin in South America, the Ganges River basin of South Asia, eastern China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand.

*** '''FALSE''': Some places (e.g. in the West and Northeast and South US outside of Tornado Alley, for example in Colorado or Montana or New York or North Carolina ''et cetera'') often do not have sirens or other outdoor warning systems, or immediately usable ones to be sounded for a weather threat. Even in places with sirens, winds and rain can drown out their effective range (as in, you can't hear the siren going off or can only faintly hear it), as can city noise in an urban area. Or sirens are run on main electric power, which means if the power goes out they do too. Or someone doesn't trigger them or they don't work for some reason or other. While any civil defense siren going off ''definitely'' means you should take shelter and check to see what is happening while you do (don't assume it's a test!), you should also not assume that sirens will warn you of tornadoes - again, get a weather radio, and if you have a smartphone, a weather warning/storm conditions app and/or enable emergency alerts, and if there is severe weather around, pay attention and keep an eye out, because sometimes, although less common than in the past, a dangerous storm can escape notice entirely until someone spots it.

*** '''False:''' Many do, but not always. Belief in this is what likely got several storm chasers killed or injured (including the very experienced scientist chaser Tim Samaras, who was killed along with his son and his chase partner, and a crew from Creator/TheWeatherChannel that got injured) in the 2013 El Reno, Oklahoma tornado -- most of the chasers who came too close to the tornado seemed to be traveling under the assumption that the tornado was moving northeast. The circulation was simply too wide (with satellite tornadoes and variable wind directions) to have ''any'' safety margin in almost any direction -- distance and/or shelter, not direction, was the only safeguard.

** The April 25–28, '''2011 Super Outbreak'''. This outbreak consisted of 134 [=EF0s=], 140 [=EF1s=], 49 [=EF2s=], 22 [=EF3s=], 11 [=EF4s=], and 4 [=EF5s=], for a grand total of 360 tornadoes. Tornadoes were reported from Texas all the way north through to Michigan, New York, and even into Ontario. It also set records for most tornadoes recorded on a single calendar day and any 24-hour period in a single outbreak. Measured by US Central Time, 216 touched down on April 27, and 219 touched down from 12:40 am on April 27 to 12:40 am on April 28.

** Defining "most prolific" as the most tornadoes in the shortest time span, the most prolific outbreak was the November 23, '''1981 United Kingdom outbreak''', which saw 104 tornadoes touch down in England and Wales in ''5 hours, 26 minutes''. Most of the tornadoes were weak, but still caused significant damage (though thankfully no deaths).

** The '''Western Kentucky tornado''' of December 10, 2021 is the longest-lived tornado of the modern era, traveling 165.6 miles in just under 3 hours. The parent supercell existed for even longer, tracking for about 250 miles through Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky, and it was initially believed that a single tornado had remained on the ground for that entire time. If true, this "Quad-State tornado" would have ''broken'' the 1925 record. However, like with the Tri-State tornado, further analysis revealed gaps in the damage path indicating that a tornado dissipated and a new one formed from the same cell.

[[caption-width-right:332:It can kill you. Still [[TheWorldIsJustAwesome looks incredibly cool]], though.]]

** Dixie Alley tornadoes are more likely to be rain-wrapped, making them harder to see.

** '''Tornado Emergency:''' A Tornado Emergency is the most severe tornado warning that can be issued by the National Weather Service. It is issued when a large and ''dangerous'' tornado is actively en route to a populated area.[[note]]On rare occasions, a Tornado Emergency might turn out to be a "dud" where the tornado in question is either much weaker than expected or, in even rarer cases, not on the ground at all. This infamously happened ''twice in a row'' in Arkansas in April 2022. The first time, on April 11, it was due to malicious reports of an extremely large tornado from a woman in UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}} who spoofed her location data to appear as if she was chasing the storm in Arkansas. Although there ''was'' a tornado in that case, it was ultimately only rated [=EF1=]. In the second case, on April 15, everyone was acting in good faith, but the fact that the storm was far away from radar sites meant that the NWS had to rely mostly on reports from the ground, which included law enforcement mistaking an ordinary cloud for a wedge tornado, and storm chasers mistaking straight-line wind damage for evidence of a tornado having ripped through the area. Again, this is ''not'' a normal occurrence. If you get a Tornado Emergency notification, you should ''always'' assume the worst and hope for the best.[[/note]] If you hear this one for your area, '''get to shelter,''' even if you're not normally the kind of person who adheres to regular tornado warnings.

** '''Tornado Warning:''' A Tornado Warning is issued either when there is considerable evidence that a tornado has formed (or is in the process of doing so) or when a tornado's presence has been visually confirmed.
** '''Tornado Emergency:''' A Tornado Emergency is an unofficial statement that is quickly rising in popularity. It is issued when a large and ''dangerous'' tornado is actively en route to a populated area. If you hear this one for your area, '''get to shelter.'''

** '''The Tri-State Tornado''', March 18, 1925. This tornado traveled over 219 miles, started in Missouri before crossing the Mississippi River into Illinois and then passing into Indiana. In all it cut through three states (hence the name) in a time span of 3 and a half hours.

*** '''Why does this myth persist?''' It most likely runs on two things: the fact that overpasses themselves survive tornadoes and the CommonKnowledge that the main hazard of a tornado is vertical suction within the funnel itself. It doesn't help that there is at least one highly-publicized case where a news crew successfully weathered a tornado under an overpass -- the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_26,_1991_tornado_outbreak#El_Dorado_Lake.2FKansas_Turnpike_Underpass.2C_Kansas 1991 El Dorado, Kansas tornado]] -- '''BUT''' this was something of an anomaly. Firstly, the tornado did not directly strike. Secondly, this particular overpass had heavy girders forming an odd, sheltered "box" under the roadway which blocked much of the horizontal force of the wind -- a feature distinctly ''lacking'' in most overpasses. Nevertheless, many others have decided that this "proves" that an overpass provides shelter from a tornado and paid the price; case in point, on May 3, 1999 three different overpasses took direct hits from tornadoes, two of these from the legendary [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Bridge_Creek%E2%80%93Moore_tornado Bridge Creek-Moore, Oklahoma tornado]]. At least one ''fatality'' occurred at each overpass, and virtually everyone that managed to survive suffered moderate to life-threatening injury, including compound fractures and shattered bones, lost fingers, lost ears, lost noses, and impalement by pieces of shingles, 2x4s, etc.

*** '''Why does this myth persist?''' It most likely runs on two things: the fact that overpasses themselves survive tornadoes and the CommonKnowledge that the main hazard of a tornado is vertical suction within the funnel itself. It doesn't help that there is at least one highly-publicized case where a news crew successfully weathered a tornado under an overpass -- the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_26,_1991_tornado_outbreak#El_Dorado_Lake.2FKansas_Turnpike_Underpass.2C_Kansas 1991 El Dorado, Kansas tornado]] -- '''BUT''' this was something of an anomaly. Firstly, the tornado did not directly strike. Secondly, this particular overpass had heavy girders forming an odd, sheltered "box" under the roadway which blocked much of the horizontal force of the wind -- a feature distinctly ''lacking'' in most overpasses. Nevertheless, many others have decided that this "proves" that an overpass provides shelter from a tornado and paid the price; case in point, on May 3, 1999 three different overpasses took direct hits from tornadoes, two of these from the legendary [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Bridge_Creek–Moore_tornado Bridge Creek-Moore, Oklahoma tornado]]. At least one ''fatality'' occurred at each overpass, and virtually everyone that managed to survive suffered moderate to life-threatening injury, including compound fractures and shattered bones, lost fingers, lost ears, lost noses, and impalement by pieces of shingles, 2x4s, etc.

** Speaking in the absolute most generality, a tornado is born of the horizontal rotation that begins when a cold, dry air mass slides underneath a warm, moist air mass. How this horizontal rotation becomes a vertical rotation, nobody knows for certain. No, seriously, ask any meteorologist and they will give you the same answer.

* ''' The Enhanced Fujita Scale''' or '''EF-Scale''' is the successor and improved version of the Fujita Scale. Unlike the F-Scale, the EF-Scale is much more specific about what sorts of damage results in where a tornado is ranked. It also takes into further account how different factors effect how much damage a structure suffers, such as the kind of structure, how it was built, how well it was built, effects of debris, etc. Like the F-Scale it was based on, the EF-Scale ranks tornadoes on a 6-point scale from 0 to 5. An [[http://www.srh.noaa.gov/images/mlb/surveys/012210/Viera_CraneCk1.jpg EF0]] has wind speeds ranging from 65 to 85 mph, an [[http://www.srh.noaa.gov/images/mlb/surveys/092007/pic1.jpg EF1]] ranges from 86 to 110 mph, an [[http://www.crh.noaa.gov/images/lsx/recent_event/06_08_2009/ef2damage_2.JPG EF2]] ranges from 111 to 135 mph, an [[http://www.crh.noaa.gov/images/ict/wxstory/2012/april14th/damage/sg/Oaklawn26.JPG EF3]] ranges from 136 to 165 mph, an [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/EF4_tornado_damage_example_2.jpg EF4]] ranges from 166 to 200 mph, and an [[http://edudemic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/joplin-missouri.jpg EF5]] is any tornado with winds above 200 mph.

*** The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Central_Texas_tornado_outbreak#F-5_Jarrell_tornado May 27, 1997 Jarrell, Texas tornado]] is infamous among those who study tornadoes for a multitude of reasons, namely the [[https://extremeplanet.me/2012/06/26/aerial-damage-from-the-f5-jarrell-tornado-the-most-intense-tornado-damage-ever-photographed/ absolutely devastating]] damage it caused (which was arguably made worse because the tornado itself was an unusually slow-moving one) coupled with the fact that the tornado went from a stationary rope tornado to a multi-vortex wedge tornado that abruptly started heading southwest and literally wiped an entire neighborhood off the face of the earth.