BACKGROUNDER: TORNADOES
EMERGENCY INFORMATION
- The best protection during a tornado is in an interior room on the
lowest level of a building, preferably a basement or storm cellar.
- Tornadoes strike with incredible velocity. Wind speeds may approach
300 miles per hour. These winds can uproot trees and structures and turn harmless objects
into deadly missiles, all in a matter of seconds. Mobile homes are particularly vulnerable
to tornadoes.
- Injury or deaths related to tornadoes most often occur when buildings
collapse, people are hit by flying objects or are caught trying to escape the tornado in a
car.
- Tornadoes are most destructive when they touch ground. Normally a
tornado will stay on the ground for no more than 20 minutes; however, one tornado can
touch ground several times in different areas.
DANGER ZONES
Tornadoes can occur in any state but are more frequent in the
Midwest, Southeast and Southwest. The states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia,
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma,
South Dakota, and Texas are at greatest risk.
WHAT IS A TORNADO?
A tornado is a violent windstorm characterized by a twisting,
funnel-shaped cloud. It is spawned by a thunderstorm (or sometimes as a result of a
hurricane) and produced when cool air overrides a layer of warm air, forcing the warm air
to rise rapidly. The damage from a tornado is a result of the high wind velocity and
wind-blown debris. Tornado season is generally March through August, although tornadoes
can occur at any time of year. They tend to occur in the afternoons and evenings: over 80
percent of all tornadoes strike between noon and midnight.
DID YOU KNOW...
- Tornadoes can be nearly invisible, marked only by swirling debris at
the base of the funnel. Some are composed almost entirely of windblown dust and still
others are composed of several mini-funnels.
- On average, the United States experiences 100,000 thunderstorms each
year. Approximately 1,000 tornadoes develop from these storms.
- Although tornadoes do occur throughout the world, the United States
experiences the most intense and devastating tornadoes.
- Tornadoes produce the most violent winds on earth. Tornado winds can
approach speeds as high as 300 miles per hour, travel distances over 100 miles and reach
heights over 60,000 feet above ground.
- In November 1988, 121 tornadoes struck 15 south central states,
resulting in 14 lives lost and damages reaching $108 million.
- According to the National Weather Service, about 42 people are killed
because of tornadoes each year.
Link to Tornado Action Plan Information
Link to How The Public Can Help After A
Disaster
Return to the Sarpy County Emergency Management
Agency Page
Created April 14, 1996
