Extremely high winds tear homes and businesses apart. These winds are also capable of destroying bridges, flipping trains, sending cars and trucks flying, tearing the bark off trees, and sucking all the water from a riverbed. The average tornado is only about a few hundred feet wide or as wide as a mile.

 According to the website, www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/svrwx101/tornadoes, “Tornadoes are the most violent of all atmospheric storms. Tornadoes occur in many parts of the world, including Australia, Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. New Zealand reports about 20 tornadoes each year.” Two of the highest concentrations of tornadoes outside the U.S. are in Argentina and Bangladesh. Every year in the United States, tornadoes cause around 400 million dollars in damage and kill about 70 people on average. 

Most tornadoes last 10 minutes or less, but tornados dated back in the 1900s can either last a few seconds to an hour long. 

According to the article, The Science Behind Tornadoes: What They are and How They Form, “The rotating column of air descends and brings down the water vapour with it, in the form of a funnel cloud. When the funnel touches the ground, we call it a tornado (it isn’t a tornado until it reaches the ground). The strength of tornadoes is measured using something called the Enhanced Fujita scale.” Tornadoes usually form from thunderstorms. When warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and cool, dry air from Canada meet, they create instability in the atmosphere. This causes the vortex of wind that is capable of massive destruction. Despite being a mix of warm and cool air, tornadoes themselves are actually chilly, no matter the year or season.

There are plenty of ways to survive a tornado. If you are indoors, take cover in the cellar or a small space (a closet or bathroom) in the interior of your home, always stay away from windows. If a person is outside, they are supposed to run to a field or a ditch. Never stay in a car or try to drive away from  tornadoes. Tornadoes are not that deadly; many people survive tornadoes without injury, even the ones that cause the most devastating destruction.