Tornado Myths Cont...

In a tornado, the storm might hit one house and then skip over other houses. It is true that a house that is in between two destroyed homes can be "untouched", but this is not the result of a tornado "skipping" as was previously thought (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_myths). After the Super Outbreak, Dr. Fujita studied many films of tornadoes from that day (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_myths). Included in his review was damage and tornado film footage of F4 and F5 tornadoes. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_myths). Fujita concluded that the multiple vortices of an F-4 or F-5, which are highly volatile but small vortices that dance around the main funnel, are responsible for making tornadoes appear to "skip houses" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_myths).

Myths about tornado 2

Overpasses are that safe as people think are when dealing with a torndo. In reality, when directly hit by tornadoes, the confined spaces beneath overpasses increase the speed of the winds due to the Venturi effect, and thus make them potentially less safe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_myths#Using_highway_overpasses_as_shelter). Andover tornado footage, it was discovered that the tornado did not pass directly over the bridge, but instead over the ground slightly south of the bridge and camera crew, exposing them to much weaker winds (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_myths#Using_highway_overpasses_as_shelter). The overpass was also of a specific design which included a hollow crawlspace at the top of the embankment under the bridge surface (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_myths#Using_highway_overpasses_as_shelter).

Myths of tornadoes

One of the most persistent myths associated with tornadoes is that opening windows will lessen the damage caused by the tornado (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado). While there is a large drop in atmospheric pressure inside a strong tornado, it is unlikely that the pressure drop would be enough to cause the house to explode (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado). Some research indicates that opening windows may actually increase the severity of the tornado's damage (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado). Regardless of the validity of the explosion claim, time would be better spent seeking shelter before a tornado than opening windows (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado). A violent tornado can destroy a house whether its windows are open or closed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado).

Global Warming

Global warming refers to the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans in recent decades and its projected continuation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Warming). An increase in global temperatures is expected to cause other changes, including sea level rise, increased intensity of extreme weather events, and changes in the amount and pattern of precipitation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Warming). Other effects of global warming include changes in agricultural yields, glacier retreat, species extinctions and increases in the ranges of disease vectors (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Warming).

Landspout

A landspout is a type of a weak tornado. they form during the growth stage of convective clouds by the ingestion and tightening of boundary layer vorticity by the cumuliform tower's updraft (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landspout). Landspouts most often occur in drier areas with high-based storms and considerable low-level instability (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landspout). They generally are smaller and weaker than supercellular tornadoes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landspout).

Waterspout

A waterspout is basically a tornado that touches a body of water. Fair weather waterspouts are less severe but far more common, and are similar in dynamics to dust devils and landspouts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado#True_tornadoes). They form at the bases of cumulus congestus cloud towers in tropical and semitropical waters ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado#True_tornadoes). They have relatively weak winds, smooth laminar walls, and typically travel very slowly, if at all (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado#True_tornadoes). They occur most commonly in the Florida Keys (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado#True_tornadoes). Waterspouts don't have to come directly from a supercell thunderstorm, like a normal tornado does.

Types of Tornado

A multiple vortex tornado is a tornado that contains several vortices rotating around and inside of and part of the main vortex ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_vortex_tornado)These multiple vortices are somewhat similar to eyewall mesovortices found in intense tropical cyclones (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_vortex_tornado). The only times multiple vortices may be visible are when the tornado is first forming or when condensation and debris is balanced enough so that subvortices are apparent without being obscured (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_vortex_tornado). They are responsible for most cases where narrow arcs of extreme destruction lie right next to weak damage within tornado paths (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_vortex_tornado)

Tornado

A tornado is a violently rotating column of air which is in contact with both a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, a cumulus cloud base and the surface of the earth (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado). Tornadoes come in many sizes but are typically in the form of a visible condensation funnel, whose narrow end touches the earth and is often encircled by a cloud of debris (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado). A tornado can have wind speeds up to 110 mph.A tornado can be on the grouind for miles at a time. Tornado very common in the United States.

The Supercell Thunderstorm

Supercell thunderstorms are large, severe storms which feature wind speed and direction that vary with height ("wind shear"), separate downdrafts and updrafts (i.e., precipitation is not falling through the updraft) and a strong, rotating updraft(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderstorm#Supercell). These storms normally have such powerful updrafts that the top of the cloud can reach miles into the air and can be 15 miles wide( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderstorm#Supercell). These storms produce destructive tornadoes, sometimes F3 or higher, extremely large hailstones, straight-line winds in excess of 80 mph and flash floods (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderstorm#Supercell). In fact, most tornadoes occur from this kind of thunderstorm (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderstorm#Supercell).