Tornadoes
Written by Cynthia Chong
Table of Contents Table of Contents........................................................................................................... pg. 1
What is a Tornado.......................................................................................................... pg. 2
A Tornado is Born.......................................................................................................... pg. 3
Safety............................................................................................................................. pg. 4
Tornado Alley................................................................................................................. pg. 5
About the Author........................................................................................................... pg. 6
Cited Sources............................................................................................................... pg. 7
1
What Is aTornado?
A tornado is powerful gust of spinning wind, dust, and water droplets. There are many different types of tornadoes. One type is called a waterspout, which is basically a tornado on the water. Another type is in the desert, which is called a dust devil. A tornado usually goes in a "path,” it can go in a straight line, or even in zig-zags! It sucks basically everything in its way, but everything out of its way will be perfectly fine. Great damages may occur so safety is very important during a tornado.
DID YOU KNOW? These are pictures of a waterspout ( left), and a dust devil (right)
A waterspout is weaker than the one on air because water is heavier than air!
A Tornado is Born... Tornadoes are formed when cold air fronts and warm air fronts collide. First, there are two different rotations of speeds happening at the same time, it creates a horizontal spin of air. When this horizontal spinning air touches a cold updraft, then, the updraft will tighten it and it will spin faster and faster. As warm air rises, cooler airs goes beneath it. This is called a downdraft. If that downdraft touches the ground, you got a tornado!
Safety Safety is very important when a tornado strikes because many people can get killed in a deadly tornado. You should go under your basement, stairs, or tables if you are in your house. Those things prevent crumbling walls falling on or hurting you. Strong stairs can prevent pieces of stones and walls hitting you, and tables can protect your head. If you are on the road, be careful! Make sure you find a low ditch and hide in there until the tornado leaves the area. If you are in a mobile home, evacuate it immediately because tornadoes can easily suck up the cars with their strong wind speeds. As you can see, safety comes first during a tornado, even a small one.
Where Do YOU Call Safe?
Under stairs and tables is a safe place for tornadoes
DID YOU KNOW? Bathtubs are probably the safest place because it usually is the last thing left from a tornado!
Tornado Alley A lot of tornadoes occur in the mid-west in America, that is why people call the area the "Tornado Alley". But How Did All These Tornadoes End Up in the Mid-West? Here’s why: when warm air rises from the Gulf of Mexico and the cold air from Canada rises, they all gather in the mid-west. This is why there are so many tornadoes in the mid-west! This is why the mid-west is called the Tornado Alley. The mid-west in America is made up of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Eastern Colorado. Oklahoma is the state with the most tornadoes in 2013 because it is rather flat, so tornadoes can easily happen there. One of the deadliest tornados in the US history was the Tri-State tornado that went through parts of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana in March 18, 1925. It killed 689 people, injured more than 2000, and lasted 3 and a half hours! That is rare among tornadoes because they usually last for a few minutes.
DID YOU KNOW? A tornado usually last for a few minutes. The larger the tornado, the longer it is!
The area in red is where Tornado Alley is located
Glossary Downdraft- a downward current or draft of air
Mobile Home- a car-like house that you can drive in; also known as a caravan
Updraft- an upward current or draft of air
The Tri-State Tornado- a tornado that went through parts of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana and killed hundreds of people
About the Author Cynthia Chong was born in Mountain View, California and is currently a 5th grader in Shanghai American School. She started to learn and like reading when she was six years old and started to like to write the following year. She loves going outside, enjoy the good weather, curl up with a good book, and eat chocolate all nigh long! She now lives in Shanghai with her family.
Cited Sources Pictures Wellmadedesign.com. watercolor_pattern_triangles-1024x1024.jpg (1024×1024) Wellmadedesign.com. (n.d.).Watercolor_pattern_triangles-1024x1024.jpg (1024×1024). [online] Retrieved from: http:// wellmadedesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/watercolor_pattern_triangles-1024x1024.jpg [Accessed: 10 Feb 2014].
Freefever.com. leopard-print-colorful-pattern-twitter.jpg (1920×1024) Freefever.com. (n.d.). Leopard-print-colorful-pattern-twitter.jpg (1920×1024). [online] Retrieved from: http:// www.freefever.com/stock/leopard-print-colorful-pattern-twitter.jpg [Accessed: 28 Jan 2014]. Mosaicloft.com. Links_Cool_pattern.jpg (2054×2054) Mosaicloft.com. (n.d.). Links_cool_pattern.jpg (2054×2054). [online] Retrieved from: http://www.mosaicloft.com/wpcontent/uploads/2010/07/Links_Cool_pattern.jpg [Accessed: 28 Jan 2014]. Wellmadedesign.com. watercolor_pattern_dots_multi-1024x1024.jpg (1024×1024) Wellmadedesign.com. (n.d.).Watercolor_pattern_dots_multi-1024x1024.jpg (1024×1024). [online] Retrieved from: http:// wellmadedesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/watercolor_pattern_dots_multi-1024x1024.jpg [Accessed: 28 Jan 2014]. Fineartamerica.com. Tornado Paintings for Sale Fineartamerica.com. (2014). Tornado paintings for sale. [online] Retrieved from: http://fineartamerica.com/art/paintings/ tornado/all [Accessed: 27 Jan 2014]. http://www.eo.ucar.edu/kids/dangerwx/tornado3.htm http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Flag_of_the_Red_Cross.png http://www.avarfurniture.co.uk/images/gallery/187/04-under-stairs-doors-fitted-door-under-the-stairsgallery-3.jpg http://www.teak.com/large_products/2MOL10.gif I.imwx.com. 090908Waterspout3b.jpg (400×480) I.imwx.com. (n.d.). 090908waterspout3b.jpg (400×480). [online] Retrieved from: http://i.imwx.com/web/multimedia/ images/blog/090908Waterspout3b.jpg [Accessed: 24 Jan 2014].
Islandnet.com. nasa_dust_devil_june8.jpg (700×458) Islandnet.com. (n.d.). Nasa_dust_devil_june8.jpg (700×458). [online] Retrieved from: http://www.islandnet.com/~see/ weather/graphics/photos0708/nasa_dust_devil_june8.jpg [Accessed: 24 Jan 2014]. Universe Today. Where is Tornado Alley Universe Today. (2010). Where is tornado alley. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.universetoday.com/75828/where-istornado-alley/ [Accessed: 22 Jan 2014].
Tornado-Alley.jpg (768×502) D1jqu7g1y7 D1jqu7g1y74ds1.cloudfront.net. 4ds1.cloudfront.net. (n.d.). Tornado-alley.jpg (768×502). [online] Retrieved from: http://d1jqu7g1y74ds1.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Tornado-Alley.jpg [Accessed: 23 Jan 2014].
Websites Brainpop.com. BrainPOP - Animated Educational Site for Kids - Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts Brainpop.com. (1999). Brainpop - animated educational site for kids - science, social studies, english, math, arts. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.brainpop.com/ [Accessed: 22 Jan 2014].
Books Simon, Seymour. Tornadoes. HarperCollinsPublishers, 1999. Print. Birch, Robin. Weather and Climate: Extreme Weather. New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2010. Print.
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