Tornadoes

TornadoesTornadoes are powerful and frightening. They cause loss of life and millions of dollars of damage each year in the United States. If you are worried about those flying cows in the movie Twister or if you have bad dreams about a tornado picking up your house and transporting it to the Land of Oz, check out these stormin' tornado sites and learn all you can about tornadoes.

USA Today's Tornados - Frequently Asked Questions

Twisters!

Explain what a tornado is.
How big can the damage path of a tornado be?
How many tornadoes are reported in the U.S. each year?

Tornado Information: An Introduction

Do we ever have tornadoes in Utah?

Explain how a tornado forms.
Does every violent thunderstorm have the potential to form a tornado? Why or why not?
What are some clues to help you determine if an approaching storm is likely to develop a tornado?

Tornadoes

Tornados can be nature's most violent storms.

Explain how a tornado can form.
When preparing for a tornado should you open your windows to minimize damage to your house? Why.
Where is the best place to go to in your home if a tornado is approaching?
Which parts of your house should you stay away from?
What parts of your hose or items in your house are the safest during a tornado?
What should you do if you're in a mobile home and a tornado is approaching?
What should you do if you're in a car and a tornado is approaching?

The Fujita Scale

Has there ever been an F4 in Utah?

According to this pie chart, what percentage of all tornadoes each year are classified F0-F1? What percentage are classified F2-F3? What percentage are classified F4-F5?
What percentage of tornado-related deaths are caused by tornadoes classified as F0-F1? What percentage of tornado-related deaths are caused by tornadoes classified as F2-F3? What percentage of tornado-related deaths are caused by tornadoes classified as F4-F5?

Tornadoes By State

Click on Utah. You will see tornadoes that have occurred in Utah between 1880 and 2000; they are listed by county. Find the following information:

What is the most recent tornado that happened in Salt Lake County? What was its classification on the Fujita Scale? Were there injuries or deaths related to this tornado?
Scroll through the information from all listed counties. What is the strongest tornado as listed on the Fujita Scale that has ever occured in Utah? What was its classification? In what county did it occur?
Scroll through the information listed for all counties. Have there ever been tornado-related injuries or deaths in the state of Utah? If so, list the county, the date of the tornado, the Fujita classification of the tornado, and whether the incident was an injury or death for each occurrence.

Raging Planet - Tornado

Tornado Alley.

What is Tornado Alley?

USA Today Weather - Where Tornadoes Strike Most

This map also shows average annual tornado occurences.

What is the 30-year average number of tornadoes per year in Alaska, Rhode Island, and Vermont?
What is the average number per year in Oklahoma?
What is the average number per year in Texas?
Scroll down to the next to last paragraph on this page and list the 3 states where tornadoes occur the most often.

USA Today Weather - Western Tornadoes

Tornadoes in Hawaii?

Are most tornadoes in the western U.S. weak or strong?

Tornado Alley

Is there a hurricane alley?

What are the three weather elements that occur most often in the central United States that make it prone to the largest number of tornadoes in the entire world?

Everything You Want To Know About Tornadoes

Questions and answers from experts.

If you were at Lagoon and you heard that a tornado was headed your way, where would the safest place to go be?

Tornado Warnings

Up-to-the-date information.

Where was the most recent tornado warning? (What city and state?) From this main page, click on the blue numbers next to the most recent tornado warning. Until what time of the day does the tornado warning extend? (Depending on what time of the year you are doing this assignment, there may not be a tornado warning for today.)

Severe Weather Tornado Map

Check out this map of the latest severe weather/tornadoes. What general area of the United States had the most tornado activity? (Depending on what time of the year you are doing this assignment, there may not be a tornado activity for today.)

Storm Prediction Center Monthly Tornado Statistics

Killer tornado information.

What was the total number of tornadoes for:
- 1996
- 1997
- 1998
What was the total number of deaths from tornadoes in:
- 1996
- 1997
- 1998
Which 4 months generally have the most tornadoes?
Which 4 months generally have the least tornadoes?

Huntsville Learns to Live with Tornadoes

Personal tornado stories.

Huntsville, Alabama is in an area that has many tornadoes. Jones Valley Elementary School in Huntsville was destroyed by a tornado in 1989. When it was rebuilt, how did they design it to help protect it from tornadoes? What happened to a girl named Emily Seaver who was 10 years old when that destructive 1989 tornado hit her town?

American Red Cross Disaster Services

Be like the Boy Scouts and be prepared.

It is suggested that people who live in areas which have many tornadoes have a disaster supply kit. List 6 items that such a kit should contain.

American Red Cross Disaster Services

Disaster help.

List 4 suggestions of what people should do after a tornado has passed.

Pioneer : Utah's Online Library

Newspapers are now online as well as on your front porch

Go to the Pioneer : Utah's Online Library and select either the Salt Lake Tribune or the Deseret News. Find some information about tornadoes. From either source, choose their archives which are prior issues of the newspapers. Use "tornado" as your search term and find articles about twisters. Choose one article of your choice and write a brief summary.

Author: LINDA MOSBACKER - Email linda.mosbacker@slc.k12.ut.us