The Tri-State Tornado
Safety Tips
SAFETY
If you are in: |
Then: |
A structure (e.g. residence, small building, school, nursing home, hospital, factory, shopping center, high-rise building) |
Go to a pre-designated shelter area such as a safe room, basement, storm cellar, or the lowest building level. If there is no basement, go to the center of an interior room on the lowest level (closet, interior hallway) away from corners, windows, doors, and outside walls. Put as many walls as possible between you and the outside. Get under a sturdy table and use your arms to protect your head and neck. Do not open windows. |
A vehicle, trailer, or mobile home |
Get out immediately and go to the lowest floor of a sturdy, nearby building or a storm shelter. Mobile homes, even if tied down, offer little protection from tornadoes. |
The outside with no shelter |
Lie flat in a nearby ditch or depression and cover your head with your hands. Be aware of the potential for flooding.
Do not get under an overpass or bridge. You are safer in a low, flat location.
Never try to outrun a tornado in urban or congested areas in a car or truck. Instead, leave the vehicle immediately for safe shelter.
Watch out for flying debris. Flying debris from tornadoes causes most fatalities and injuries. |
Where do they occur?
Tornados usually occur in "tornado alley" which is east of the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi during spring and summer
What Causes Tornadoes to Form?
Tornadoes occur with thunderstorms. There are a couple of ways that they form. Most strong and violent tornadoes occur with supercell thunderstorms. Thunderstorms occur when warm moist air is forced upward (by the heat of the afternoon sun, a cold front, or other weather disturbance). If the atmosphere is unstable strong upward currents called updrafts lift the air until water vapor condenses forming clouds and precipitation. The falling precipitation causes a downward air current called a downdraft. So to have thunderstorms there must be 1) moisture 2) unstable air 3) something to lift the warm moist air up. But as I mentioned most tornadoes occur with a special storm type called a supercell. Supercells occur with a certain wind conditions. Winds that turn from south to west with height and/or increase rapidly with height (especially in the lowest several thousand feet of the atmosphere) cause the updraft in a thunderstorm to rotate. If the updraft is strong enough and the wind shear is strong enough, a tornado may occur. Supercells also produce large hail, strong winds and heavy rain.
What Affect do Tornadoes Have on People?
- one affect that tornadoes have on people is that their homes may get completely destroyed
- another affect that they have on people is that loved ones can get killed
- farm owners lose their livestock
- cars and other personal belongings can be destroyed
References
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.