Portal:Tornadoes
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Portal maintenance status: (December 2021)
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Note: Tornadoes are very dangerous and potentially deadly. Always take tornado warnings seriously and immediately seek shelter. |
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The Tornadoes Portal
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In meteorology, a cyclone (/ˈsaɪ.kloʊn/) is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anticyclone). Cyclones are characterized by inward-spiraling winds that rotate about a zone of low pressure. The largest low-pressure systems are polar vortices and extratropical cyclones of the largest scale (the synoptic scale). Warm-core cyclones such as tropical cyclones and subtropical cyclones also lie within the synoptic scale. Mesocyclones, tornadoes, and dust devils lie within the smaller mesoscale.
Upper level cyclones can exist without the presence of a surface low, and can pinch off from the base of the tropical upper tropospheric trough during the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere. Cyclones have also been seen on extraterrestrial planets, such as Mars, Jupiter, and Neptune. Cyclogenesis is the process of cyclone formation and intensification. Extratropical cyclones begin as waves in large regions of enhanced mid-latitude temperature contrasts called baroclinic zones. These zones contract and form weather fronts as the cyclonic circulation closes and intensifies. Later in their life cycle, extratropical cyclones occlude as cold air masses undercut the warmer air and become cold core systems. A cyclone's track is guided over the course of its 2 to 6 day life cycle by the steering flow of the subtropical jet stream. (Full article...)Selected tornado list - show another
In early May 2007, a significant tornado outbreak affected the Central United States. Over a three-day period from May 4–6, a total of 132 tornadoes touched down across seven states. Collectively, the tornadoes killed 14 people, injured 90, and left behind $264.7 million in damage. The most destructive events took place on May 4 when an intense supercell thunderstorm produced a family of 22 tornadoes in central Kansas, one of which inflicted EF5 damage across the small town of Greensburg (with a population of around 1,500). Approximately 95 percent of the town was damaged or destroyed and 11 people died. The scale of destruction led to the near-complete reconstruction of the town.
The event was precipitated by a nearly stationary upper-level trough along the Utah–Nevada border with three surface boundaries extending across Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. A dry line formed over Kansas, Texas, and the Oklahoma Panhandle late on May 4 and became the focal point for extensive severe thunderstorm development. Conditions the following day remained exceptionally favorable for discrete supercell thunderstorm activity with ample instability and strong wind shear favoring long-lived tornadic storms alongside the potential for large hail. The likelihood of widespread severe weather prompted the issuance of a high-risk convective outlook from the Storm Prediction Center. Activity was as expansive and prolific as forecast, with 92 tornadoes touching down across the country on May 5. Twenty-five tornadoes touched down across South Dakota on May 5, including one EF3 tornado and five EF2 tornadoes. Activity subsided on May 6, with only brief, weak tornadoes over rural areas in the Plains region. This resulted from more resilient caps inhibiting thunderstorm development and from the upper-level trough shifting east and weakening. (Full article...)Selected image - show another
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This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1971, primarily in the United States. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally. Tornado statistics for older years like this often appear significantly lower than modern years due to fewer reports or confirmed tornadoes.
(Full article...)Related portals
2024 tornado activity
Tornado anniversaries
May 18
- 1883 – A tornado outbreak killed 64 people across the Central United States with the worst impacts in Illinois. Eight people died in Racine, Wisconsin where homes were "ground to pieces" by an F4 tornado. Eight more were killed when another F4 tornado destroyed Greasy Prairie, Illinois. A "balloon-shaped" F4 tornado carved a path through Springfield, Illinois and leveled numerous farms, killing 11 people. Another 12 were killed by a tornado that damaged or destroyed all of Literberry, Illinois.
- 1898 – A tornado outbreak left 55 people dead in the Midwestern United States. An F4 tornado or tornado family killed 28 people across western Iowa and eastern Illinois along with hundreds of livestock. A massive F5 tornado killed 12 people in Marathon County, Wisconsin.
- 1902 – An F4 tornado cut a devastating path through Goliad, Texas, obliterating 100 buildings and killing 114 people. More than a quarter of the town's population was killed or injured. Many of the deaths in the aftermath were due to tetanus.
May 19
- 1960 – An F4 tornado caused major damage in Meriden, Kansas, killing one person and injuring 91. In town, 64 homes were destroyed and 148 were damaged. Another F4 tornado, rated F5 by Thomas P. Grazulis, damaged or destroyed dozens of farms as it moved between Ogden and Rossville, Kansas.
- 1983 – A tornado outbreak impacted the Southern United States and Michigan. An F3 tornado damaged hundreds of buildings in Urania and Olla, Louisiana, killing one person and injuring 35.
May 20
- 1957 – A catastrophic F5 tornado moved through the suburbs of Kansas City, Missouri, with the worst damage in Ruskin Heights, sweeping away many homes, killing 37 people, and injuring at least 500. This tornado, or a previous member of the tornado family killed 7 others in Kansas including 5 near Spring Hill.
- 2013 – A large EF5 tornado devastated parts of Moore, Oklahoma, killing 23 people. It was the second F5 or EF5 tornado to affect Moore, the other striking in 1999. Seven of the dead were students at Plaza Towers Elementary School. Damage totaled $2 billion, one of the costliest tornadoes in U.S. history.
Did you know…
- ...that the 2013 Moore tornado that struck Moore and Newcastle, Oklahoma, is the most recent EF5 tornado?
- ...that the 2021 South Moravia tornado, an IF4 tornado with winds between 207–260 mph (333–418 km/h), was the strongest tornado to hit the Czech Republic in modern history?
General images - load new batch
- Image 1Low-end EF4 damage to a business in downtown Cayce (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado)
- Image 2Radar collage of a supercell that spawned a tornado family during the outbreak (from Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021)
- Image 3A liquor store that was destroyed in the western part of Bowling Green, Kentucky. (from Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021)
- Image 4Radar 3D volume scan of the supercell showing debris lofted over 30,000 feet (9.1 km) in the air as the tornado struck Mayfield (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado)
- Image 5A multi-ton freight car that was thrown from the tracks in Barnsley (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado)
- Image 6EF3 damage to businesses in downtown Dresden, Tennessee. (from Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021)
- Image 7Debris and destroyed homes along Alexander Street in Dawson Springs (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado)
- Image 8Major structural damage to a house near Hartford (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado)
- Image 9Widespread devastation in a residential area of Dawson Springs (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado)
- Image 10High-end EF4 damage to a house in Bremen (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado)
- Image 11Aerial view of EF4 damage in Mayfield the day after the tornado (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado)
- Image 12Derecho moving across eastern Nebraska and western Iowa (from December 2021 Midwest derecho and tornado outbreak)
- Image 13A satellite view of the extratropical cyclone that was responsible for the tornado outbreak on December 11. (from Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021)
- Image 14High-end EF3 damage to homes in the Creekwood subdivision in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Numerous fatalities occurred in this area. (from Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021)
- Image 15Trees that were completely debarked and denuded near Buckeye, Arkansas. (from Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021)
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Although historically the U.S. state of Connecticut is not typically known to fall casualty to tornadoes, more than 100 of these powerful storms have affected the state in modern history, resulting in at least 48 deaths, 780 injuries, and more than $500 million in damage. This list of tornadoes in the state is likely incomplete, as official records date back only to 1950 for tornadoes in the United States.
As with most of the northeastern United States, the number of tornadoes peaks in the summer months, normally in July or August. Hartford County has had the most tornadoes in the state, although since 1950 Litchfield County has reported the most tornadoes. Several areas have been struck more than once, and Waterbury has been struck by no less than four tornadoes since 1955. (Full article...)Topics
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Related WikiProjects
The scope of WikiProject Severe weather is to write articles about severe weather, namely thunderstorms and tornadoes. Their talk page is located here.
WikiProject Weather is the main hub for all articles that are weather-related. WikiProject Weather strives to improve articles in a variety of weather topics, including Tropical Cyclones, Severe Weather, General meteorology, Non-tropical Storms, Climate, Floods, Droughts and wildfires, Meteorological instruments and data, Meteorological Biographies, and Space Weather. If you would like to help, please visit the project talk page.
WikiProject Meteorology is a collaborative effort by dozens of Wikipedians to improve the quality of meteorology- and weather-related articles. If you would like to help, visit the project talk page, and see what needs doing. The project is currently being merged into WikiProject Weather.
WikiProject Tropical cyclones is a daughter project of WikiProject meteorology. The dozens of semi-active members and several full-time members focus on improving Wikipedia's coverage of tropical cyclones.
Wikipedia is a fully collaborative effort by volunteers. So if you see something you think you can improve, be bold and get to editing! We appreciate any help you can provide!
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