What is a tornado in reference literature briefly. What is a tornado and why is it dangerous? At the epicenter of a tornado. Eyewitness account
Have you ever observed a column of dust or sand rising from the ground, looking like a dancing, writhing whip? If so, rejoice - it was not a tornado. What you saw is called a sand or dust whirlwind.
If you compare the danger it poses with the danger of a real tornado, it will be proportional to the danger of a toy Tyrannosaurus rex compared to a living one. The energy contained in a true tornado is equivalent to the reference energy atomic bomb.
What is a tornado and where does it come from?
What is a tornado? He is known to us as different names- tornado, tornado, blood clot - and is one of the most dangerous natural phenomena. At its core, it is nothing more than a thundercloud that has descended to the ground to “dance.” The scope of the “dance” at the surface of the earth can reach 3 kilometers, although it usually does not exceed 300-400 m.
What does a tornado look like? Like a huge funnel descending from heaven to earth. Around its lower part you can see a cloud of objects scattered by it, dirt, dust or water, if we are talking about a tornado over a water surface. Unlike the aforementioned sand or dust whirlwinds, a tornado is a single whole with - this, one might say, is its trunk descending to the ground. The tornado cannot break away from it and become independent. Sand whirlwinds have nothing to do with clouds at all.
The reasons for the appearance of tornadoes are still not well understood. What is known for certain is that this natural phenomenon can occur if moist, warm air comes into contact with a “dome” of cold, dry air located above a cold area of land or sea. 
The mechanism of occurrence is approximately this: at the point of contact, the steam contained in the warm flow condenses, and heat is released, heating the air in the contact zone, and it naturally rushes headlong upward. Nature does not tolerate emptiness, as we know, and in its place warm humid air and cold air located below are drawn in... And off we go. We have already compared a tornado with an atomic bomb. It turns out that they have not so little in common because what is happening cannot be called anything other than a chain reaction.
How is the notorious trunk that goes down to the ground formed? The fact is that cold air, drawn into the rarefaction zone, cools even more and falls down. And with it, the rarefaction zone itself descends, which, having reached the bottom, begins to draw in everything that comes in and lift it up.
The main danger of a tornado lies, firstly, in the fact that it can playfully lift a person to the very abyss of heaven, and then, having played enough, let him go in peace, and secondly, a section of rarefied air that suddenly comes to visit you can cause what's yours the house will explode“for joy” and cover you with rubble.
What should you do in case of a tornado?
Hide. Reinforced concrete bunker - that's it! Climb into it - and you won’t be afraid of any tornadoes! If you are in a car or some kind of trailer, get out immediately, otherwise you will feel like Ellie from The Wizard of Oz. But with a ninety-nine percent probability we can predict that everything will not end so well. 
If you happen to meet this monster on open space, you can congratulate yourself on your record for bad luck: remember school lessons physical education and press the afterburner in the direction perpendicular to its movement. If this does not help and he does catch up with you (they sometimes rush at a speed of 60 km/h), become part of the landscape - press yourself into some depression, hollow, crack so that the area low blood pressure I didn’t have the opportunity to drag you down. After all, for this it is necessary forward motion air mass with reverse side. Be sure to cover your head with your hands - you never know what “gift” will come from above.
If you're in a house that doesn't have a basement, take cover in the center of a room on the first floor. Stay away from windows. Doors and windows on the side of the approaching tornado should be closed, and on the opposite side, on the contrary, open and secured. This will avoid an explosion due to pressure drop. Turn off the electricity and turn off the gas.
How is a tornado different from a hurricane?
It often happens that a person does not really understand the difference between such concepts as a hurricane and a tornado. These are completely different things! A hurricane is a tropical cyclone that appears as strong wind thunderstorms and rain. 
A tornado, however, we have already described in detail what a tornado is. But, I must say, this confusion is not without reason - a hurricane can cause a tornado.
How is a tornado different from a tornado?
Nothing. It is often thought that a tornado and a tornado are different things. Nothing of the kind - these are synonyms. It’s just that in some areas it is customary to call the land version of this phenomenon a tornado, and a sea tornado.
Introduction
1. The nature of tornadoes and tornadoes
2. The concept of a tornado
3. Rules of conduct when a tornado is approaching
4. Types of tornadoes
5. How tornadoes form
6. Conditions for the formation of tornadoes
7. Why do tornadoes occur?
8. Rules for naming hurricanes, tornadoes and typhoons
9. What's inside a tornado
Conclusion
List of used literature
Introduction
History has preserved a lot of information about natural disasters, which are currently called tropical cyclones and which mainly form over the oceans in the tropics, regularly hitting the eastern and equatorial regions of the continents. Tropical cyclones are hurricanes and typhoons that occur in northern and southern parts Pacific Ocean, in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, in the southern part Indian Ocean, off the coast of Madagascar and the northwestern coast of Australia. Tropical cyclones are usually given names.
One of the insidious and unexpectedly arising natural formations there is a tornado in the atmosphere. It is a rotating funnel cloud that extends from the base of the thundercloud to the surface of the earth. Typical wind speeds in a tornado are 65–120 km/h, but sometimes this value reaches 320 km/h or more. External sign approaching tornado is a noise similar to the roar of a moving freight train. The occurrence of tornadoes is associated with a combination of natural processes, but since the times of the Egyptian pharaohs, tornadoes of artificial origin have been known, which were created over the tops of the pyramids and marked the ascension of the pharaoh’s spirit into the sky to the Sun God “Ra”. The sketches of tornadoes preserved in Egyptian hieroglyphs do not explain the technique of their formation.
The most typical region where tornadoes occur quite often is the United States. Although tornadoes are observed all over the globe. In the United States for the period from 1961 to 2004. Tornadoes killed an average of 83 people per year. Tornadoes are most likely to occur in the eastern states adjacent to Gulf of Mexico, in February and March their frequency reaches its maximum. In Iowa and Kansas, the highest frequency of tornadoes occurs in May–June. The average number of tornadoes in the United States is estimated at about 800 per year, of which 50% occur in April–June. The territorial heterogeneity of the frequency of tornadoes in the United States has stable characteristics: in the state of Texas – 120 tornadoes/year, and in the northeastern and western states – 1 tornado/year. For example, in April and November 2002 alone, more than 100 tornadoes tore through the United States, leaving widespread destruction and causing more than 600 insurance claims. The elements do not leave other countries alone either. For example, the 2002 winter hurricane Jeannette, which swept through Europe, caused widespread destruction and resulted in insurance claims of over $1 billion.
1. The nature of tornadoes and tornadoes
Tornadoes and tornadoes are small-scale atmospheric vortices. The nature of the occurrence of these atmospheric phenomena is similar to the nature of the occurrence tropical cyclones. Tornadoes and tornadoes have similar structures.
Let's look at how tornadoes and tornadoes occur.
From the center of a thundercloud, the lower part of which takes the peculiar shape of an overturned funnel, a huge dark “trunk” gradually descends, stretching towards the surface of the sea or land. Here, a wide funnel consisting of water and dust rises towards this phenomenon. The “trunk” plunges its end into the open bowl of the resulting funnel. A solid column appears that can move at speeds of up to 40 km/h. The height of the pillar can reach from eight hundred meters to one and a half kilometers. From a powerful thundercloud, not one, but several tornado funnels can descend at once, each of which usually causes enormous damage.
The movement of air in the system of tornadoes and tornadoes occurs counterclockwise. But sometimes it happens that the air moves clockwise. At the same time, air rises in the form of a spiral. In adjacent areas, air may descend and thus the vortex closes. Under the influence of the enormous speed of rotation, a centrifugal force appears in the vortex itself, which helps to reduce the pressure in it. This leads to the fact that during the movement of the vortex, everything that comes along the way is sucked into it.
2. The concept of a tornado
A tornado is a rapidly rotating column of air descending from or forming beneath a cumulonimbus cloud, often (but not always) visible as a funnel cloud. To be classified as a tornado, the twister must originate from a cloud and touch the ground. It is known that a tornado can create an invisible funnel.
How do tornadoes form in the USA?
The classic answer to this question is that warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico collides with cold air from Canada and dry air from the Rocky Mountains across the United States. Under such conditions there arises a large number of thunderstorms that carry the threat of tornadoes. The most destructive and deadly tornadoes are formed under huge cumulonimbus clouds, which in the USA are called supersells, these clouds rotate, forming mesocyclones. These clouds often bring large hail, squally winds, strong thunderstorms and downpours, as well as tornadoes.
How many tornadoes occur in the US each year?
About a thousand tornadoes occur in the United States every year. It is difficult to say exactly, since some tornadoes occur in sparsely populated areas and therefore are not recorded.
What time of year does the most tornadoes occur?
Generally, tornado season lasts from early spring to mid-summer. In some states, tornadoes peak in May, in others in June or even July. But in general, tornadoes can occur at any time of the year.
What is Tornado Alley?
This is the historical name of the central American states, in which it is observed greatest number tornado. However, tornadoes can occur anywhere: both in the West and in the east coast USA, as well as in Canada and other countries.
How long does a tornado last?
A tornado can last from a few minutes to an hour or more. But most of of which there are no more than ten minutes.
How are tornadoes in the northern hemisphere different from those in the southern hemisphere? They differ in the direction of rotation. Most tornadoes (but not all!) have a cyclonic rotation, that is, counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere. Anticyclonic tornadoes rotate clockwise in the northern hemisphere. They most often occur in the form of waterspouts, and there are also many cases of simultaneous observation of cyclonic and anticyclonic tornadoes under the same thunderstorm.
3. Rules of conduct when a tornado is approaching
A tornado is a strong atmospheric whirlwind over land, characterized by exceptionally high frequency of occurrence.
Tornadoes occur quite often, but it is impossible to predict exactly where it will appear next time, and therefore you have to “chase” a tornado. The mobile laboratories used in such pursuits are too fragile and are destroyed before they can reach the center of the tornado and begin to study it.
It has also not yet been possible to produce a tornado in a laboratory under controlled conditions: this would require an experimental setup hundreds of meters in size.
Tornado still remains obscure atmospheric phenomenon surrounded by many myths and misconceptions.
Usually, when a tornado hits, there is time to take shelter from the storm. In fact, it is not always possible to guess that a real hurricane has arrived, since it can begin with hail or heavy rain. In a wooded area, in the mountains or in a city, danger is often noticed precisely when it is already inevitable. It's also important to know that some tornadoes don't have the typical plume-like appearance of a cloud. The arrival of a tornado is accompanied by strong winds, carrying debris of everything that comes their way.
My car can go much faster than a tornado. In fact, average speed tornado is 40-65 km/h, and some move with more higher speed. Even though your car may be moving faster than the tornado, that doesn't mean you should continue on your way because the tornado moves in a variety of directions. If you are on the road and see a tornado heading in your direction, move out of its path and find shelter.
If there is no other way to hide, then a car will provide a safer shelter than a trailer or Vacation home. In fact, this is not always the case. This topic is hotly debated in North America. If you have time, you can jump into a car and take refuge there. In the case of a low-power tornado, the car will serve as a reliable shelter from objects carried by the wind or rolling along the ground. It's best to buckle up well and bend your head as low as possible. However, do not forget that a stronger tornado can destroy cars in its path.
The approach of a tornado can be known early enough to warn the public, thanks to Doppler radar. Doppler radar detects the precipitation and wind that accompany a storm and allows meteorologists to detect signs of an approaching tornado. But the approach of a tornado can only be said with certainty when the tornado is in sight. If weather services warn that a thunderstorm is approaching, there is a possibility of a tornado.
4. Types of tornadoes
A tornado is a narrow column of air rotating at great speed, stretching all the way to the ground from the base of the thundercloud. A person will not always be able to recognize a tornado at first glance, since it consists of wind that cannot be seen. An essential feature is a funnel that consists of water droplets. Debris and dust that may be contained in the funnel can make a tornado noticeable. Researchers of this phenomenon have concluded that a tornado may not always make contact with the ground.
There are two types of this natural disaster:
– tornadoes that arose as a result of very severe thunderstorms;
– tornadoes, the occurrence of which was influenced by other factors.
The most dangerous are tornadoes that appear as a result of thunderstorms.
A superstorm is a thunderstorm that lasts more than 1 hour and is continued by an air current that is constantly rotating.
A tornado, which belongs to the second type, is nothing more than a whirlwind of dust and debris that forms near the surface of the earth, along the line of the wind flow without a funnel. Another variant of a tornado is a tornado (hurricane). It looks like a narrow rope-shaped funnel.
The formation of tornadoes is an amazing mystery. The formation of vortices in nature occurs literally at every step, for example, a funnel formed when water flows out of a bathtub. A small funnel in the bathroom and a huge tornado are phenomena of the same order, however, in a funnel the swirling mass is directed downwards, and in a tornado - upwards. When figuring out how air currents move inside a vortex, it would be appropriate to mention the small experience of the great Albert Einstein. The scientist was very interested in the process that occurs in tea when stirring it with a spoon. It turns out that tea leaves floating on the surface, with intense rotation of water, somehow in an incredible way always found themselves at the center of rotation. Einstein explained it this way: the lower layers of liquid rotate at a lower speed, and the upper layers rotate at a higher speed. That is why all the tea leaves gather towards the center of the cup and rise slightly upward.
5. How tornadoes form
When studying the causes of tornadoes, scientists use theoretical developments, data obtained from observations, and physical models, but for decades, tornadoes continue to plague people. Supercell tornado (tornadoes resulting from the formation of a cloud supercell). The swirling updraft is the cornerstone in the formation of a Supercell storm and, as a result, a tornado. There are many theories as to how this process begins. For example: a column of air may begin to twist as a result of "shear" winds, when air masses at different heights from ground level move at different speeds or in different directions. The shear that ultimately results in a tornado occurs, for example, when winds blowing close to the ground are slowed by friction from contact with the surface, while in layers of the atmosphere further away from the ground, winds blow at speeds many times faster than the lower currents. As a result, the “invisible” air pipe begins to rotate horizontally. We still have many questions. From observations, scientists have found that about 20 percent of all severe storms usually produce tornadoes. Why does one storm cause a tornado, while another equally powerful one ends without it? What other factors besides updrafts fuel tornadoes? What is the role of downward air currents and differences in temperature and humidity (both in the vertical and horizontal directions of tornado propagation). Moreover, not all tornadoes are of thunderstorm origin, what can be said about such phenomena? Non-thunderstorm tornadoes do not appear as a result of strong circulation air masses over the entire area of the storm. These tornadoes are formed as a result of the vertical rotation of a section of air masses occurring near the very surface of the earth, with a diameter of about 1-10 km, the cause of which was the “displacement” of the wind. When an updraft rises above the location of such a state of air masses, there is a high probability of tornado formation. In eastern Colorado, similar non-thunderstorm tornadoes are common because... cold air brought from the mountain peaks collides with the hot air currents of the plains. Since such tornadoes occur mainly in poorly populated areas, scientists cannot accurately determine their strength, but in general, these are not very powerful winds.
6. Conditions for the formation of tornadoes
The detailed reasons for the formation of tornadoes are not yet fully understood. After all, if all the reasons are known, then it will be possible to avoid both the tornado itself and possible consequences from his “revelry”.
Today, some conditions are known under which tornadoes occur. For nucleation, moist warm air must be present in the lower layers of the atmosphere, and the winds must blow in south direction. And in the upper layers of the atmosphere there should be dry and cold air. Under such conditions, an air mass rises at the surface of the earth, from where the tornado gains its energy.
The life of a tornado can be divided into three phases: initiation, development and decay. When a tornado originates in a rain or cumulonimbus cloud, a funnel appears that grows in a spiral towards the surface of the earth or water. The energy of a future tornado is generated by thermal convection, when heated air rises. With each passing minute, as the air rises, the rotation speed of the future tornado increases. More is attracted from the speed of rotation warm air, and warm air increases the rotation speed. And so on in a circle until the power reaches its apogee. Then the second stage starts - the stage full development. Here, an already formed tornado reaches its maximum speed and size and begins its movement. More powerful and destructive tornadoes are observed on land; in the sea they are short-lived and not so strong.
The third stage is attenuation. Here the speed of rotation of the funnel decreases, the color changes from dark to light, and the tornado itself breaks approximately in half, one part goes to the ground, the other rises into the “mother” cloud.
The life of any tornado takes several tens of minutes. Only some of the most powerful ones can exist for several hours. The average speed of an average tornado is 60 kilometers per hour, and very rarely reaches 200 kilometers per hour.
7. Why do tornadoes occur?
Today, natural disasters such as tornadoes, tornadoes and hurricanes cause great destruction, loss of life and hundreds of millions of dollars in property losses. Meteorological experts believe that the most destructive hurricanes, which have become more frequent in recent decades, are directly related to global warming. And since the temperature in the atmosphere continues to rise steadily and uncontrollably every year, we should expect even more “gifts” from nature.
A tornado (tornado, as it is called in America) is a rotating heated air stream. The rotation speed can reach 1000 meters per second. For its formation in the atmosphere, rarefied rain clouds and a powerful vertical air flow between the cloud and the surface of the earth. The most powerful and destructive tornadoes can travel up to 500-1000 kilometers, bringing down at the point of extinction everything that they collected along the way. The most destructive tornado occurred in the United States in the spring of 1974. Then it totaled more than 100 whirlwinds, which took the lives of more than 30 people (4000 were injured). The loss amounted to more than 700 million dollars.
The European tornado is no less dangerous. Although more powerful tornadoes form on vast plains, Europe has seen considerable destruction from such an “unexpected guest.” In Russia, in the same 1974, a tornado even toppled a 240-ton construction crane into the river.
Both tornadoes and tornadoes are local atmospheric formations, and if possible, encounters with them can be avoided. But what really frightens with its power is a hurricane. Typically, hurricanes affect the population of those countries located from 5 to 35 degrees in the northern hemisphere. Here they are natural phenomena most common. All hurricanes arise over the ocean, or more precisely over the warmest part of it. For a hurricane to form, the water temperature must be at least 27 degrees Celsius. From space it resembles the same tornado, only much larger. And on the periphery of the hurricane, new vortex flows in the form of tornadoes may form, which will make such air front even more powerful and fierce.
The most “fatal” hurricane in the history of mankind (of course, what remains in history) was Hurricane Katrina, which overtook southern states USA August 27-29, 2005. As he approached the coast, experts gave him highest score according to the Saffir-Simpson scale. The wind speed during Hurricane Katrina was 220-280 kilometers per hour.
The city of New Orleans, which was destroyed by 80 percent, suffered the most in those days. Hurricane Katrina claimed nearly 2,000 lives and caused economic losses of $125 billion.
Many countries around the world will allocate funds to study and combat such natural phenomena. But if we can still predict the approach of a hurricane or tornado, then we are not able to fight today.
8. Rules for naming hurricanes, tornadoes and typhoons
Until the world's first system for naming hurricanes appeared, these natural phenomena received their names by chance, without any systematicity. Sometimes hurricanes were named after the name of the saint on whose day the disaster occurred. This is how, for example, Hurricane Santa Anna got its name, reaching the city of Puerto Rico in 1825, on St. Anna’s Day. Also, the name of a hurricane could be given by the name of the area that suffered most from its impact. Sometimes the name was determined by the very form of this phenomenon. Thus, Hurricane Pin of 1935 got its name. Path shape of this hurricane resembled a stationery pin.
Australian meteorologist Clement Wragg distinguished himself with a very interesting method of naming hurricanes: he proposed naming typhoons after the names of politicians who refused to vote in favor of allocating loans for meteorological research.
9. What's inside a tornado?
To this day, a tornado is considered a poorly understood atmospheric phenomenon. The main difficulty of study is that tornadoes are very difficult to study experimentally. Such natural phenomena occur quite often, but the time of their occurrence is impossible to predict. Mobile laboratories “chasing a tornado” are destroyed before the center of this hurricane can reach them.
Until now, no one has been able to create a full-fledged tornado in laboratory conditions, since this requires an experimental installation several hundred meters in size. All the information available to scientists today was obtained by an indirect method. Note that astronomy is used to study tornadoes. Since it is impossible to “get inside” the phenomenon itself, you just have to observe it, while trying to understand its nature.
What is at the very center of a tornado? It is known so far that there is an area of low pressure in the center. In more powerful tornadoes, the pressure difference between the inside and outside is 0.1 atmospheres or more.
Conclusion
Tornadoes, storms and hurricanes are some of the most powerful forces of nature. They cause significant damage to the population, cause significant difficulties, and lead to casualties. They are compared to floods and earthquakes in terms of their destructive impact. The destructive effect of tornadoes, storms and hurricanes depends on the high-speed pressure of air masses, which has a propelling effect and determines the force of the dynamic impact.
Hurricanes and storms are often accompanied by hail and thunderstorms. A hurricane originates in the ocean and comes to land, bringing with it catastrophic destruction. As a result of the combined action of wind and water, lungs are demolished and strong buildings are damaged, fields are devastated, communication and power lines are broken, trees are uprooted and broken, people and animals die, roads are destroyed, ships sink.
Why is a hurricane so scary?
Firstly, with its hurricane waves that hit the coast. A hurricane seems to push huge waves ashore in front of it, the height of which reaches several meters. In coastal areas they cause severe flooding and destroy everything that gets in their way. Eyewitnesses of such powerful and terrible waves rarely survive.
Secondly, catastrophic floods and downpours. The thing is that when a hurricane is born, it absorbs huge masses water vapor, which condenses and gathers into powerful and large thunderclouds, which cause flooding not only in the coastal zone, but also in areas significantly removed from the coast, and serving as a source of catastrophic downpours. The rainfall that accompanies hurricanes also causes landslides and mudflows.
List of used literature
1. J. Christenson “Tornadoes and tornadoes” M. Ecolitgiz 2004
2. Sibiryakov A.S. "World natural disasters» L. Publishing house "Delo" 2009
3. Khanzhin G.B. “Winds from within” Infra-M, 2001.
A tornado is a vortex that consists of air, dust, and sand. This entire mass rotates at tremendous speed and rises from the ground to the cloud, connecting them to each other. Visually, a tornado looks like a trunk.
Funnel formation
They say that there is no point on Earth where a tornado could form, for long years observations, scientists have recorded craters on all continents, in all climatic zones. Tornadoes can appear both over land. They are especially common during hot and humid weather. Moreover, the presence of clouds is far from necessary; the birth of tornadoes was often observed when clear sky, although thunderstorms and showers are the companions of a tornado.
In essence, a tornado is a pump that sucks in and lifts into the cloud various items, sometimes very cumbersome. And carries them for many kilometers.
A tornado consists of a funnel (a vortex moving in a spiral) and walls (the air inside the walls sometimes moves at speeds of up to 250 meters per second). It is in the walls that objects rise up, and sometimes even animals, caught up.
The birth of the funnel has not been fully studied; it is believed that it arises during the collision of oncoming forces, one of which is wet and cold, and the other is dry and hot. One turns out to be heavier, it lies inside the future funnel, and the second is lighter, it envelops the lower one. As a result of this, a movement of less heated air masses is created from the periphery to the center, a non-uniform column is formed, which, due to the constant rotation globe will also spin.
As a rule, a few minutes are enough for a tornado to form. It is worth noting that it is limited to minutes, but observers know of cases when a tornado “lived” for several hours, delivering a unique destructive blow.
The path of a tornado is not unambiguous - from 20-40 meters to several hundred kilometers. Moreover, the presence of forests, lakes, hills and mountains on the path of the funnel is not an obstacle.
Anomaly and its behavior
Characteristic for this natural anomaly even jumping: the tornado moves along the ground for some time, then rises into the air and flies without contact with earth's surface. Then it comes into contact with the ground again, and it is at this moment that the most terrible destruction occurs. Not only do people get caught in a tornado small items, but also animals, cars, houses and even people.
In Russia, when observing tornadoes, the areas and regions in which their most frequent occurrence was recorded were identified: the Volga region, the Urals, Siberia, as well as the coast of the Black, Azov and Baltic seas. It is worth noting that a tornado that occurs at sea often moves onto land, and only increases its strength. On average, 20-30 tornadoes are formed in Russia over 10 years. Many of them leave behind horrifying consequences. For example, a tornado that occurred in Ivanovo destroyed more than 600 houses, 20 schools and kindergartens, 600 country houses, killed 20 people, injured more than 500.
Despite the efforts of researchers of this phenomenon, it is almost impossible to predict the time and place of the next tornado.
Discuss
Surely, while observing various natural phenomena, a person has more than once asked himself the question about one of the most dangerous of them - a tornado.
What is a tornado? This is a strong vortex, a kind of giant air funnel, formed under cumulus clouds due to the difference in atmospheric pressure and always developing in a vertical spiral.
What is a tornado?
A tornado is easy to recognize by its dark cloud column, the height and diameter of which are frightening in size and can reach several kilometers. This natural phenomenon always descends from a cloud in the form of a cone-shaped funnel, tapering towards the surface of the earth. Spinning at breakneck speed, it absorbs objects that get in its way.
The approach of a tornado is accompanied by a terrible growing sound, its strength reminiscent of the roar of a huge freight train or a waterfall. The energy of the tornado is equal to the explosion of an atomic bomb, exploded in 1945 by the Americans during tests in New Mexico.
Deadly Funnel
The rotation of air flows inside a tornado occurs counterclockwise, creating a very low Atmosphere pressure, literally tearing to shreds everything that falls into the deadly funnel. Although sometimes, contrary to all the rules, tornadoes preserve the life of living organisms. Chickens caught in a tornado and having experienced what a tornado is like escape from it alive, albeit completely without feathers. In America, cases have been recorded when a tornado tore a house into pieces, leaving the buffet with dishes untouched. There is an assumption that explains such situations. Inside the deadly funnel, a certain center is formed - the “eye of the tornado” (as experts call it), around which the entire mass of air rotates, developing a speed of about 200 meters per second. This is probably where the surviving objects and surviving victims end up in this vacuum.
Difference between tornado and tornado
Tornado, tornado - what is the difference between the two dangerous natural disasters? In the title and territorial location. Tornadoes are typical for American lands, where they rage in full force, and in different states with different frequencies. Thus, with an average annual number of 700, a single tornado was recorded in Alaska in 1953; There were more than 1,200 tornadoes in Kansas during the same period. Most often from this phenomenon States such as Ohio and Texas are suffering. The most powerful tornado swept through the Midwest in March 1925, killing 689 people. Australia ranks second after the United States, although the number of tornadoes here is less impressive: about 15 per year.
America is the land of tornadoes
Why did America fall in love with such a terrifying natural element? Because in this area there is the highest probability of meeting warm, moist air (which is characteristic of the Gulf of Mexico) with cold, dry air located over cold areas of sea and land (in this case, the territory of Canada and the Rocky Mountains).
Therefore, in America, there most often occurs a large number of showers, squally winds, and thunderstorms, which carry the threat of the formation of deadly tornadoes.
How does a tornado form?
How does a tornado occur? First, an ominous thundercloud appears on the horizon; At the same time, it becomes very stuffy and hot outside. Then the rain begins to drizzle and a slight wind rises, which, upon reaching the cloud, is directed sharply upward. If you look at the top of the cloud, you can see how it begins to change, swirling upward, then falling down, while powerful air currents drill through it. Then there is a sharp drop in temperature, after which a chilling, unbearable cold sets in. From the hanging clouds, a “pillar” descends to the ground and rotates at tremendous speed. A tornado, being an integral part of a cloud, cannot break away from it and exist independently.
At this time, a giant atmospheric vortex is moving towards it from the surface of the earth. When two pillars collide, one is formed, connecting the earth and sky. Rolling with a deafening roar, the tornado storm pulls into itself everything that gets in its way: houses, trees, cars, people.
The destructive power of a tornado
The duration of this terrible action is 10 minutes, after which everything calms down. On the surface of the earth, as a reminder of the furious rage of nature, there remains a strip of several kilometers along which it looks as if a giant bulldozer had driven. The atmospheric vortex is so powerful in its strength that it is capable of carrying heavy objects over long distances. The wind speed reaches 1000 km/h, and trees and pieces of metal torn out of the ground move through the air at the same speed, turning into deadly weapons. Those who had the opportunity to experience what a tornado was said that at the scene of its action they found what looked like nails driven into tree trunks. The very low pressure in the middle of a tornado can cause a house to explode if the base of the spinning funnel touches the structure. Meteorologists, thanks to modern equipment, are able to predict the exact date and time of such a natural disaster. You should know that the safest place in the house is its north-eastern corner or middle front door; on the street it is a ditch or ditch. During a tornado, you should stay away from window openings. Windows and doors on the side of the approaching elements must be closed, and opposite side open and thus secure. This will allow you to avoid an explosion if there is a pressure drop. Be sure to turn off the gas and turn off the electricity.
Tornadoes and tornadoes are considered the most dangerous natural disasters for all living things. Tornadoes have been thoroughly studied, but no one has yet learned how to escape and pacify this disaster. According to scientists, tornadoes occur annually and their number is steadily increasing. The reason for this may be constant climate change, as well as deterioration of the planet’s ecology.
Every creature and object that gets there will be thrown out after a while. enormous height and in a completely different place. Objects flying from a tornado also pose a huge danger. Even houses are not protection; strong air currents can easily demolish a building, drawing a lot of debris inside.
What does the word "tornado" mean?
The phenomenon occurs most in North American territories. This is where disasters take their name. On Spanish"tornado" means "spinning". Wind whirlwinds began to be called tornadoes by Spanish colonists who arrived to conquer new territories.
In the territories of Russia, the phenomenon was called a familiar tornado. The word comes from the Old Russian "smarch" or "smirch", which means cloud. Thus, the concepts “tornado” and “tornado” are synonymous. They describe the same phenomenon.
Interesting fact: once a case was recorded when a whirlwind carried away a heavy train weighing 80 tons. The whirlwind dragged him 40 meters from the tracks.
What are tornadoes and tornadoes?
Most tornadoes occur in thunderclouds. They represent atmospheric vortices that stretched from heaven to earth. Air masses are in constant motion, forming a funnel that sucks in any object in its path. The tornado is attracted to the surface by internal currents, while external currents rise upward. Thus, the air inside the tornado is highly discharged.
All objects falling inside a tornado can explode from the simultaneous impact different pressure. Basically, such objects are considered closed buildings. A tornado spares no one.