Tornados
Tornados are a very devastating weather phenomenon.
Tornados develop in super cell thunderstorms and sometimes in hurricanes. Waterspouts are
tornados that occur over water. Tornados are formed within a
thundercloud when the direction of wind varies with height.
This causes a rotation to form in the cloud. Eventualy the
rotation may make it's way down to the surface as a
tornado. A tornado is rated from 0-5 and as weak, strong,
or violent. The scale that determines this is called the
Fujita Tornado Intensity Scale (see below).
| Scale | Category | Force (mph) | Path Length (miles) | Path Width (yd/mi) | Damage |
| F0 | Weak | 0-72 | 0-1 | 0-17 yd. | Light |
| F1 | Weak | 73-112 | 1-3.1 | 18-55 yd. | Moderate |
| F2 | Strong | 113-157 | 3.2-9.9 | 56-175 yd. | Considerable |
| F3 | Strong | 158-206 | 10-31 | 176-556 yd. | Severe |
| F4 | Violent | 207-260 | 32-99 | .34-.9 mi. | Devastating |
| F5 | Violent | 260-308 | 100-315 | 1-3.1 mi. | Incredible |
This
shows how destructive a tornado can be (left). This was a
F5 tornado that ripped through the small town of Jarrell, TX
killing 27 and injuring many more. This was a waterspout
just off the coast of Miami, FL (right) nobody was hurt by this
waterspout becuase it never made it to land.