Tornadoes: A Whirlwind Tour

1. Tornadoes: A Whirlwind Tour By: Mr. Donahue

2. Objectives • To define what a tornado is • To discuss various characteristics of a tornado • To discuss where tornadoes can occur, including in Pennsylvania • To discuss safety issues involving tornadoes

3. A violently rotating column of air, usually pendant to a cumulonimbus, with circulation reaching the ground. It nearly always starts as a funnel cloud and may be accompanied by a loud roaring noise. On a local scale, it is the most destructive of all atmospheric phenomena. What is a Tornado?

4. How Do Tornadoes Form?

5. How Do Tornadoes Form?

6. Most Tornadoes Form in Tornado Alley

7. Do We Have Tornadoes in Our Area?

8. Tornado Damage From an F3in Wyoming County, PA

9. Across the State

10. How Fast Can Tornadoes Travel?

11. F U J I T A S C A L E

12. “A tornado warning means that a tornado has been spotted, or that Doppler radar indicates a thunderstorm circulation which can spawn a tornado.” “A tornado watch defines an area shaped like a parallelogram, where tornadoes and other kinds of severe weather are possible in the next several hours.” Tornado Watches and Warnings

13. Summary of Tornado Safety Rules 1. Seek shelter under a sturdy table in the basement. 2. If no basement is available, go to a first floor, small interior room or a room on the opposite side from a tornado. Stay away from windows. 3. In schools, churches, and shopping centers, go to designated shelters away from outside walls, glass, and large rooms (malls, auditoriums). Get under a table or counter or in a restroom or small storeroom. DO NOT GO TO YOUR PARKED CAR * Source: http://www.public.iastate.edu/~atmos/tornado_safety_rules.html

14. Summary of Tornado Safety Rules 4. In motels, lie down in the lowest-level interior hallway away from glass. Dive under a bed or pull a mattress on top of you as last resort. 5. In a vehicle, drive away at a right angle to the storm movement. DO NOT GET CAUGHT IN YOUR VEHICLE. Abandon your vehicle and lie in a ditch or culvert or under a low bridge. Overall: Underground and under a table are the watchwords. People who get under something usually survive. * Source:http://www.public.iastate.edu/~atmos/tornado_safety_rules.html

15. 1. What is the best description of a tornado? A funnel cloud A whirlwind starting from a stratus cloud c) A violently rotating column of air, pendant to a cumulonimbus. Tornado Quiz

16. Wind speed and direction change with altitude, causing a horizontal spin, then strong updrafts within a thunderstorm lift the air into a loop, which can intensify into a tornado? a) True b) False Tornado Quiz

17. Where do most tornadoes form in the United States? The East Coast The West Coast The Central Parts Tornado Quiz

18. How many tornadoes have been reported in Carbon county since 1881? 0 2 3 Tornado Quiz

19. 5) Every county in Pennsylvania has reported at least one tornado since 1881? True False Tornado Quiz

20. 6) How fast can tornadoes travel? 30 mph 50 mph 80 mph Tornado Quiz

21. 7) A tornado warning means: A tornado has been spotted b) Doppler radar indicates a thunderstorm circulation which can spawn a tornado. c) Both a and b Tornado Quiz

22. When a tornado watch has been issued for your location, you should be alert for the potential of a tornado and be prepared to take shelter, if necessary. True False Tornado Quiz

23. If your house does not have a basement, where should go in the event of a tornado? By a window In the Attic c) A first floor, small interior room or a room on the opposite side from a tornado. Tornado Quiz

24. 10) Overall: Underground and under a table are the watchwords. People who get under something usually survive tornadoes. True False Tornado Quiz

25. Resources • http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/01424/how_do_tornadoes_form.htm • http://pasc.met.psu.edu/PA_Climatologist/extreme/Tornado/PEMA_tornado.html • http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/#Safety