Transcript f5 tornado

THUNDERSTORMS
THUNDERSTORM - A STORM WITH VISIBLE
LIGHTNING AND AUDIBLE THUNDER
ON AVERAGE, 1800 THUNDERSTORMS
HAPPEN AROUND THE GLOBE DURING ANY
DAY.
BECAUSE OF THE TURBULENCE IN A THUNDER CLOUD,
THE WATER DROPLETS AND ICE CRYSTALS WILL
BREAK APART AND BECOME ELECTRICALLY CHARGED.
GENERALLY, THE TOP OF THE CLOUD IS POSITIVELY
CHARGED, AND THE MIDDLE AND LOWER PORTIONS
ARE NEGATIVELY CHARGED.
WHEN THE CHARGES BECOME LARGE ENOUGH,
ELECTRICAL DISCHARGES WILL OCCUR.
THE ELCTRICAL DISCHARGE HEATS AIR TO
VERY HIGH TEMPERATURES.
THIS CAUSES A RAPID EXPANSION OF THE
AIR, AND THIS IS THUNDER.
THE AIR IS HEATED TO 50,000o F AND
LITERALLY EXPLODES.
BETWEEN 75 AND 100 PEOPLE ARE KILLED EACH YEAR
IN THE U.S. FROM LIGHTNING STRIKES.
APPROXIMATELY 10,000 FIRES ARE STARTED BY
LIGHTNING EACH YEAR.
NASA DISCOVERED A HIGH CORRELATION BETWEEN
LIGHTNING STRIKES AND THE AMOUNT OF ICE IN
CLOUDS.
LIGHTNING DEATHS BY STATE
1. FLORIDA – 1523
2. MICHIGAN – 732
3. PENNSYLVANIA – 644
4. NORTH CAROLINA – 629
5. NEW YORK – 577
6. OHIO – 545
7. TEXAS – 498
8. TENNESSEE – 437
9. GEORGIA – 410
10. COLORADO – 394
ON A GLOBAL BASIS, RAWANDA IN AFRICA HAS
MORE LIGHTNING STRIKES THAN FLORIDA.
LIGHTNING STRIKE DENSITY MAP FROM NASA
BASED ON SATELLITE IMAGING.
NASA LIGHTNING STRIKE DENSITY MAP CONTINUED
TORNADO - A VIOLENTLY ROTATING
COLUMN OF AIR IN CONTACT WITH THE
GROUND
THE U.S. AVERAGES 800 TORNADOES PER
YEAR.
ONLY ABOUT 1% OF THE 100,000
TUNDERSTORMS THAT OCCUR EACH YEAR
SPAWN TORNADOES.
RISING WARM AIR AND COOL
DOWNDRAFTS COMBINE TO FORM AIR IN
A HORIZONTALLY ROTATING TUBE.
THIS TUBE CAN TILT AND RESULT IN A
TORNADO.
TORNADOES USUALLY FORM ON THE
TRAILING EDGES OF STORMS.
WEAK TORNADOES WITH WINDS UNDER 110 MPH
ACCOUNT FOR 69% OF ALL TORNADOES AND 3%
OF ALL TORNADO DEATHS. THEY USUALLY LAST
6 TO 10 MINUTES.
STRONG TORNADOES (WINDS 110 - 205 MPH)
ACCOUNT FOR 29% OF ALL TORNADOES AND 27%
OF ALL TORNADO DEATHS.
THEY MAY LAST 20 MINUTES OR LONGER.
VIOLENT TORNADOES (WINDS OVER 205 MPH)
ACCOUNT FOR ONLY 2% OF ALL TORNADOES, BUT
70% OF ALL TORNADO DEATHS. THEY CAN LAST
OVER AN HOUR.
57 DEATHS AND 1,248 INJURIES
WATERSPOUTS - WEAK TORNADOES THAT
OCCUR OVER WATER
WHAT TO DO IN CASE OF A TORNADO.
1. GET INTO A BASEMENT, IF POSSIBLE,
UNDER STURDY FURNITURE OR A WORK
BENCH
2. GET IN A HALLWAY, CLOSET OR BATHROOM
- AN INTERIOR ROOM IS BEST
3. IF OUTSIDE, LIE FLAT IN A DITCH AND
COVER YOUR HEAD
4. IF IN A MOBILE HOME, GET IN A BATH TUB
WITH A MATTRESS OVER YOU
MOST TORNADO DEATHS OCCUR IN
AUTOMOBILES AND MOBILE HOMES.
OTHER TORNADO FACTS
TORNADOES CAN OCCUR AROUND THE
WORLD, BUT THE U.S. IS THE HOT SPOT FOR
THE MOST (75% OF ALL).
TORNADO FUNNELS ARE ACTUALLY
TRANSPARENT. THEY BECOME VISIBLE WHEN
THEY SUCK UP DIRT AND DEBRIS FROM THE
GROUND OR WATER DROPLETS FROM THE
AIR.
A FUNNEL CLOUD IS NOT CLASSIFIED AS A
TORNADO UNTIL IT TOUCHES THE GROUND.
TORNADO STRENGTH IS MEASURED USING
THE FUJITA SCALE.
THE SCALE WAS ESTABLISHED BY THEODORE
FUJITA, A SCIENTIST AT THE UNIVERSITY
OF COLORADO.
IT IS BASED ON THE AMOUNT OF DAMAGE
DONE ON THE GROUND AND GOES FROM F0
TO F5. THERE COULD THEORETICALLY BE AN
F6,BUT IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO TELL
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN F5 AND AN F6.
TWO MAJOR TORNADO OUTBREAKS TOOK
PLACE IN APRIL OF 2011.
1)APRIL 14 – APRIL 16 – 289 TORNADOES – 45
PEOPLE KILLED – 24 IN NORTH CAROLINA
2)APRIL 25 – APRIL 28 – 305 TONADOES – 318
KILLED
“The Tuscaloosa-Birmingham tornado caused at least 65
fatalities. This tornado had a maximum width of 1.5 miles and
a track 80 miles long. These are the most fatalities from a
single tornado in the United States since May 25, 1955, when
80 people were killed in a tornado in southern Kansas with 75
of those deaths in Udall, Kansas.”
http://www2.alabamas13.com/blogs/Alabamas13-WeatherBlog/2011/apr/27/confirmed-tornadoes-impact-metro-birmingham-ar1771560/