A Time of Tornadoes
by Anthony L. Kimery
Sunday, 30 November 2008
From Jan. 7 to July 24, there were a whopping 1,875 tornadoes recorded by the National Severe Storms Laboratory—nearly 60 percent above the yearly seasonal average, or 71 percent of the tornadoes that can be expected to strike the United States in a typical year.
And more could be on the way as the 2009 tornado season begins. As for this year, “2008 could likely equal or exceed [the last] record,” Brooks said.
Of particular concern to the folks at the National Severe Storms Lab is the sheer number of tornadoes that formed early on this year and slammed into highly populated areas. They are worried that if this trend continues in subsequent severe weather seasons, it means state and federal emergency services must be ever more alert to potentially catastrophic tornadic activity in large metropolitan localities.
It’s no secret that meteorologists and tornado authorities are increasingly apprehensive over the narrowing odds that a category 5—or possibly even larger—“monster” twister will crash head-on into the heart of a major metropolis like Dallas-Ft. Worth, Kansas City, St. Louis … or Oklahoma City.
Such an event easily could kill hundreds and injure thousands, many so seriously that area and regional medical facilities would be stretched to their limits. It’s the kind of mass casualty disaster that most worries emergency preparedness authorities.
Tornadoes are Mother Nature’s most violent storms. A tornado appears as a rotating, funnel-shaped cloud that’s spawned from the powerful mesocyclonic region of severe thunderstorms called “supercells.” Tornadoes generally form near the trailing edge of a supercell called a “wall cloud.” This distinct, low-hanging dark line of ominous-looking clouds marks where cold and warm air are being sucked into the storm system from opposing directions, creating powerful cyclonic forces.
The swirling wind of a tornado can reach 300 miles per hour, which is enough to suck the bark from trees and sod from the earth. When a house is hit by one of these roaring monsters, usually all that’s left is the foundation.
While some tornadoes are clearly visible because of the ground debris that’s been sucked up into the whirling vortex (or marks the location of a tornado even if a funnel is not visible), others can be obscured by rain and clouds. Occasionally, tornadoes can develop so quickly there’s little, if any, advance warning. They can literally distend to the ground in a matter of seconds. They also can devastate large areas in seconds. The paths of destruction can exceed one mile in width and 50 miles in length.
Full story: http://www.hstoday.us/content/view/6241/27/
Here's our Palm Sunday Tornado on April 11, 1965
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ind/?n=palmsuntor
by Anthony L. Kimery
Sunday, 30 November 2008
From Jan. 7 to July 24, there were a whopping 1,875 tornadoes recorded by the National Severe Storms Laboratory—nearly 60 percent above the yearly seasonal average, or 71 percent of the tornadoes that can be expected to strike the United States in a typical year.
And more could be on the way as the 2009 tornado season begins. As for this year, “2008 could likely equal or exceed [the last] record,” Brooks said.
Of particular concern to the folks at the National Severe Storms Lab is the sheer number of tornadoes that formed early on this year and slammed into highly populated areas. They are worried that if this trend continues in subsequent severe weather seasons, it means state and federal emergency services must be ever more alert to potentially catastrophic tornadic activity in large metropolitan localities.
It’s no secret that meteorologists and tornado authorities are increasingly apprehensive over the narrowing odds that a category 5—or possibly even larger—“monster” twister will crash head-on into the heart of a major metropolis like Dallas-Ft. Worth, Kansas City, St. Louis … or Oklahoma City.
Such an event easily could kill hundreds and injure thousands, many so seriously that area and regional medical facilities would be stretched to their limits. It’s the kind of mass casualty disaster that most worries emergency preparedness authorities.
Tornadoes are Mother Nature’s most violent storms. A tornado appears as a rotating, funnel-shaped cloud that’s spawned from the powerful mesocyclonic region of severe thunderstorms called “supercells.” Tornadoes generally form near the trailing edge of a supercell called a “wall cloud.” This distinct, low-hanging dark line of ominous-looking clouds marks where cold and warm air are being sucked into the storm system from opposing directions, creating powerful cyclonic forces.
The swirling wind of a tornado can reach 300 miles per hour, which is enough to suck the bark from trees and sod from the earth. When a house is hit by one of these roaring monsters, usually all that’s left is the foundation.
While some tornadoes are clearly visible because of the ground debris that’s been sucked up into the whirling vortex (or marks the location of a tornado even if a funnel is not visible), others can be obscured by rain and clouds. Occasionally, tornadoes can develop so quickly there’s little, if any, advance warning. They can literally distend to the ground in a matter of seconds. They also can devastate large areas in seconds. The paths of destruction can exceed one mile in width and 50 miles in length.
Full story: http://www.hstoday.us/content/view/6241/27/
Here's our Palm Sunday Tornado on April 11, 1965
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ind/?n=palmsuntor