Formation of Tornadoes Term Paper

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formation of a tornado; the composition, causes, kinds and magnitude of destruction this natural calamity is capable to bring about. Tornado, a mysterious and violently destructive windstorm, is a funnel-shaped cloud extending towards the ground with a dark cumulonimbus mass on its end facing the ground. The funnel twists about into a mad oscillation of 200-300 miles per hour and is capable of causing great destruction where it meets civilization. This paper unlocks the mysteries of how a tornado is formed and unveils a violent aspect of Mother Nature.

TORNADO

Before we can understand how a tornado is formed, it is important that we discover and visualize the structure and mechanism of such a gigantic body. A tornado is a rotating column of air with a width of a few yards to more than a mile which spins at destructive high speeds accompanied by a conical downward extension of a cumulonimbus mass of cloud. A cumulonimbus cloud is a massively dense, vertically developed accumulation with a faintly hazy outline extending great heights. It usually produces heavy rains, thunderstorms, or hailstorms. The diameter of a tornado varies between a few feet to a mile. The range of a tornado can extend from less than a mile to several hundred miles. Its direction is dependent upon that of the prevailing wind. Generally, tornadoes travel in a northeast direction at a speed ranging 20-60 m.p.h. The scale that measures the severity of a tornado is called the Fujita Scale. The Fujita or F-scale measures the severity of a tornado by the damage it causes. Wurman, a meteorologist of high stature, has constructed a mobile radio weather forecaster known as Doppler on wheels to study tornadoes more closely, his research and efforts will help in providing better forecasts of tornadoes. "Warnings usually only happen with a few minutes of lead time," he says. "In five minutes, you might not get your kids out of the yard and into the basement.

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"(Kirstein Weir, 2004).

Usually tornadoes are accompanied by thunder, lightning, hurricane and a loud "freight train like" noise. However, in comparison with cyclones and hurricanes, tornadoes cover a smaller area, are short-lived but can be just as violent and destructive. Even though tornadoes have occurred on every continent except for Antarctica which lacks weather conditions viable of causing it, they are most frequented in the continental United States. Tornadoes typically form over the central and southern plains, the Ohio Valley and Gulf States. The area where tornadoes occur most frequently is called the Tornado Alley. The Tornado alley encompasses N. Central Texas north to the Dakotas. The peak frequency, which is the region where tornadoes frequent most, is located in Oklahoma. Tornadoes that occur over water are called waterspouts.

The awe striking thing about tornado is that this huge swirling beast of a storm appears to have a mind of its own. In order to understand the mechanism of a tornado, observers and meteorologists compare them with a bathtub whirlpool. When the water drains from a bathtub a whirlpool is formed. This whirlpool is also known as vortex. The vortex is formed because of the downward pull the drain creates in the water body. A downward flow of water begins to rotate, and as the rotation speeds, a vortex is formed. There are many explanations as to why the water should start rotating. It is a consequence of "suction" created by the drain. The water particles accelerate towards the point of suction. Because of the exceeding momentum every particle is moving towards the same suction point. This sets off a deflection due to which a spiraling path to the point of suction takes course. As this spiral pathway takes its….....

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