All About Tornadoes

A drawing of a tornado ripping through a town.

CJ Elstun, Contributor

BANG, thunder rumbled. HOOOOO, the wind howled. POP POP POP POP, the rain was clattering against the house. This is just a little bit of the sounds you would hear near a tornado. Read more to learn more about Tornadoes.

 

Warning systems- Tornadoes usually start out as a thunderstorm. Most of the time, especially in the spring, there will be severe storm watches. A severe thunderstorm warning is when high powerful winds up to 100 mph happen. That’s enough wind speed to match an EF1 tornado! Sometimes a severe thunderstorm has hail, and under the right circumstances, it will produce a tornado. A tornado watch is when there will be severe/bad weather to produce multiple tornadoes. When this is issued you will probably get a warning a day or two before there will be severe weather.

 

Precautions- One precaution you should take when severe weather is going to happen is to get your storm shelter ready. This could be a basement, bathroom or a room that’s not an outside room. Put pillows, blankets, first-aid kit, extra food, and extra water in your storm shelter. When a tornado warning is issued go to your shelter and wait there if the tornado is near. You should be in a position where you’re lying face down with your hands over your head and your legs tucked in towards your stomach. Don’t go outside and wait until rescuers come or listen to the radio and officials.

 

Experiences- When a tornado happens some people say it sounds like a freight train or a jet engine when it goes through residential areas. People also report their ears are under a lot of stress and some of their eardrums even rupture since in a tornado there is low pressure. Some more people say when you’re near a tornado and you’re outside the wind is crazy. It doesn’t rain near a tornado though, because the tornado sucks up all the moisture.

 

Overall, I think tornadoes are dangerous but a pretty thing. If you would like to watch a movie about tornadoes, I suggest watching Twister. Here is a scene from the movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dQgjrrEeHA. So be careful this spring and watch the weather.