It's Raining Fish and Spiders (3 page)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce

Colored Tornadoes, Rope Tornadoes, and Other Varietals

Most tornadoes are dark because of the debris, dust, and dirt the storm has sucked up from the ground. Tornadoes can be many colors. They can be red from red dirt. Tornadoes can be white from water or from picking up snow in mountainous areas.

Tornadoes tend to look darkest to people who are on the east side of the storm. The tornado is often silhouetted in front of the brighter skies to the west of the thunderstorm. If there is heavy rain behind the tornado, it may look dark gray, blue, or even white—depending on where most of the daylight is coming from. Tornadoes wrapped in rain may exhibit varieties of gray shades on gray.

There are slang terms for tornadoes like “a wedge tornado” or “a rope tornado,” which are basically used by tornado spotters to describe a tornado's shape and appearance. This does not by any means, however, say anything certain about a tornado's strength! Wedge tornadoes simply appear as wide as they are tall. Rope tornadoes are very narrow and often snakelike in appearance.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce

A Few More Tornado Facts

Nearly 60 percent of tornadoes occur between noon and sunset. This is the time when the sun most heats the atmosphere, creating unstable conditions. The jet stream also plays an important role as it enhances super-storm cell development.

Some tornadoes can have wind speeds of up to 300 mph. A small storm could be as slow as 50 mph and last a few minutes. A large monster can last for several hours and travel as far as 250 miles.

On average, sixty people are killed by tornadoes each year. Boards, roof shingles, glass, stones, and bricks turn into missiles and cause most tornado-related deaths.

There is a major difference between a tornado and what's called a “funnel cloud.” In a tornado, the damaging circulation is
on the ground
—whether or not the cloud is. A true funnel cloud rotates, but has no ground contact. However, a funnel cloud is still dangerous and you should still avoid it! Some funnels may never touch the ground. As the funnel descends, the rotation speed increases. It becomes a tornado when it touches the ground and dramatically increases in speed and power as it feeds on the warmer surface air. If you see one, you should report it to either the local police, fire, or sheriff's department, as well as your local office of the National Weather Service.

Where Is Tornado Alley?

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce

Even though we know most tornadoes occur during the spring and summer, there is no “tornado season” (though there is a hurricane season). Still, there are certain times and areas where tornadoes are most likely to occur. From Texas to Oklahoma, through Arkansas to Illinois, through Nebraska to the Dakotas is the area that is called
tornado alley
, where most tornadoes are likely to occur during any given year. Looking
at the map
, however, you can see that if you live anywhere from South Dakota to most of Texas, from eastern Colorado to the eastern edges of the Midwest, you have a greater chance of experiencing a tornado than if you live in the Northeast, or mid-Atlantic, or on the Pacific coast. It's all but guaranteed that if you live in Oklahoma or Texas you will experience at least one tornado every one or two years.

Tornado Swarms

It is the rarest of storm types, but the super cell is the most dangerous because of the extreme weather it can generate. Since super cells can travel as far as 300 miles, multiple numbers of tornadoes can be created. This doesn't always occur, but when it does, these are called “swarms” of tornadoes. Super cells can be regenerated over a period of days along a cold front or what is called a
squall line
(a moving line of severe weather across a major portion of the country).

Most Tornado-Prone Areas in the United States

Highest Absolute Number of Tornado Fatalities

1. Texas
   
2. Mississippi
   
3. Alabama
   

Highest Absolute Number of Tornado Occurrences

1. Texas
   
2. Oklahoma
   
3. Florida
   

Highest Absolute Number of Killer Tornado Occurrences

1. Texas
   
2. Oklahoma
   
3. Arkansas
   

Most Tornadoes in Any Month

The record for the most tornadoes in any month (since modern tornado record keeping began in 1950) was set in April 2011 with 875 tornadoes. This easily broke the old mark of 543, set in May 2003.

Most Tornadoes in Any Month Since 1950