Tornadoes
Mr. T’s Reading Group
Keeli, Jordan, Zeke, Bryce, Kareena, Thalia, Madyson,
Madelyn, Tyler N., Lucas, Khristian, Jasmine, Tyler Z.,
Becca, Jessica, Skylar, D’Ondre, Kylee, Keelin,
Kendall, Teddy and Peter
What is a Tornado?
Violent storm
Spinning wind.
Touches the ground
Sometimes called a
twister
Word tornado comes
from Spanish
“tronada.”
How Tornadoes Form
Two weather fronts
meet
Wind blowing in
opposite directions in
each front
Warm upward wind
Why Are Tornadoes Shaped Like a Funnel?
High speed winds
Spin more tightly
Faster near the
ground
Why Do Tornadoes Pick Things Up?
Winds spiraling up
High wind speeds
How Tall and Wide Are
Tornadoes?
Sizes vary a lot
Width at bottom from
20 feet to over 1 mile
Average 300 feet
How Long Do Tornadoes last?
Seconds to four hours
How Do We Measure Tornadoes?
Fujita scale
F0 to f5
F0 smallest with most
damage
F5 biggest with most
damage
Are There Different Kinds of
Tornadoes?
Waterspout
How Are Tornadoes and
Hurricanes Alike?
Both are cyclones
Both have a calm eye
in the very center
Both are types of
weather
Both cause a lot of
damage
Why do Tornados Stop?
Energy from opposing winds
goes away
Can Tornadoes Come Back?
Tornadoes
can disappear and come back
Back building
Jumping
Where do They Have Tornados?
Tornado alley
USA
Tornado alley
Texas, Oklahoma,
Iowa, Kansas,
Nebraska,
Arkansas,
Missouri, Indiana,
Illinois.
How Do People Predict Tornados?
They look for weather
conditions
They look for warm
air near the ground
They look for cold air
high up
Warm wet air,
meeting cool dry air
Rising air in one place
Do Tornadoes Happen at a Certain
Time of Year?
Usually late winter
and early spring
Into summer
Sometimes all times
of the year.