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Ready for some fun tornado facts? A tornado is a violent and destructive storm that can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours.

Basically, powerful winds rotate in a funnel shaped cloud around a central point.

Unbelievably they can reach speeds of up to 300 miles per hour (483 kilometers). To be called a tornado they have to touch the ground, otherwise they're called a funnel.

If you see a storm kicking up some dust, that isn't necessarily a tornado, there has to be that wind rotating around.

As we've said, they're really destructive and they can literally destroy everything in their path when they touch the ground.

They've been known to literally lift up houses, cars and anything that gets in their way.

Where do you find Tornadoes?

They're found throughout the world in countries like South Africa, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and across Europe.

The most famous ones can be found in Tornado Alley which stretches from Texas to the Dakotas in the US.

There are over a 1,000 tornadoes in the US every year. Wow - that's a lot!

When do Tornadoes happen?

Well they can happen at any time of the year, but are mostly seen in a stormy spring or in summer when warm air and cold air bump together and the air basically becomes unstable.

They can form out of many types of storms but the most common is called the Supercell where if the winds come from just the right direction with just the right strength, the storm begins to spin and can form a tornado.

Tornadoes can spin clockwise and counter-clockwise.

Another type of tornado is the Waterspout which is a tornado over water and is strong enough to turn boats upside down.

Before a tornado strikes, the wind may die down and the air becomes very still, or it can strike suddenly with very little warning.

How much do Scientists know about Tornadoes?

Well there is plenty that they don't know about tornadoes and measuring their strength is really difficult.

Their strength is currently measured by the amount of damage they cause and this is done by using a scale called the Fujita or F scale developed by Dr. Tetsuya Theodore Fujita.

There have been some changes to his work and it's now called the Enhanced Fujita Scale.

The extent of a tornado's damage can range from 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) wide to 50 miles (80.4 kilometers) long.

Whoa! A tornado that damages trees can get an EF0 rating, but one that is violent and rips buildings off their foundations, destroys solid brick buildings or twists skyscrapers and huge steel machines and heavy farm equipment into unrecognizable lumps of metal gets an EF4 or EF5 rating.

Only about 1% of tornadoes reach that level but even a weak tornado can turn a car over.

What to do if you live in a Tornado area?

If people live in a tornado area they should know what to do if one strikes. Radio, TV and apps are the most common ways that warnings are given that a tornado might be brewing or on its way.

People in cars in busy areas shouldn't try driving away from a tornado as they will probably get stuck in a traffic jam and then have no protection when it hits.

They are better to park off the road to clear the way for traffic and go and find a strong solid building to shelter in.

They must not stand in the open and watch the tornado. This can be very dangerous as tornados can move very quickly and there is often lighting as well as objects flying around.

Hiding under bridges or highways is not safe either as they can be blown out or hit by objects travelling at speeds from 200 (321 kilometers) or 300 miles (482 kilometers) per hour.

If there are no solid buildings to hide in, they can find the lowest ground area possible or lie face-down with their head covered in a ditch.

The best option is getting protection in the sturdiest building that can be found, in a basement or an interior room on the ground floor with no windows and then covering up with blankets, cushions or mattresses.

However, this is not foolproof either.

Having a radio to hear news broadcasts is a good idea too. Nature is very, very powerful.

Some more interesting tornado facts

Did you know that every tornado has its own color, sound and shape?

You need to step on the pedal of a car past 70 miles (112 kilometers) per hour to outrun the fastest tornadoes.

Tornadoes have been reported in every state in the US and also in every season.

Who would have thought this? A tornado happens mostly between 3pm and 9pm.
Also Read:

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Tornado Facts For Kids - Fun Earth Science

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Tornado Facts For Kids Ready for some fun tornado facts? A tornado is a violent and destructive storm that can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. Basically, powerful winds rotate in a funnel shaped cloud around a central point.

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What damage can a tornado do?

This photograph from 2007 shows the damage a tornado can do!

Some tornadoes have caused terrible damage and loss of life. One of the worst was in March 1925 when a tornado hit the town on Annapolis in Missouri, USA.

It was a calm sunny afternoon and children were playing marbles in the street. The sky was clear and blue. Suddenly on the horizon people saw a black cloud shaped like an ice-cream cone. It raced down on the town at terrific speed, bringing with it a wind of 150 miles an hour.

With a deafening roar the tornado tore through the streets, leveling everything in its path. Solid stone buildings were torn apart, passenger trains were turned over and smashed, fifty cars were swept up and carried over the rooftops.

The tornado's path was less than 250 yards wide but it left a terrible scene behind it, with 823 people killed and nearly 3,000 injured.

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Tornadoes - Tornado Facts - Tornadoes for Kids - Weather Facts for kids

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This photograph from 2007 shows the damage a tornado can do! Some tornadoes have caused terrible damage and loss of life. One of the worst was in March 1925 when a tornado hit the town on Annapolis in Missouri, USA. It was a calm sunny afternoon and children were playing marbles in the street.

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Take shelter, gang - because here at National Geographic Kids, we're entering the eye of the storm with ten tornado facts!

Check out our ten top facts about tornadoes...

1) Tornadoes - also known as "twisters" - are violently rotating columns of air that reach from a storm cloud to the earth's surface.

2) The winds of a tornado can reach speeds of up to 480km per hour - that's strong enough to peel the roofs off houses, uproot trees and hurl heavy objects, such as cars, hundreds of metres!

3) Tornadoes come in different shapes and sizes. Some may appear as wide funnel-shaped clouds, others as thin rope-like swirls stretching from the ground to the sky.

4) The duration of tornadoes, and the distance they travel, varies. Most last less than ten minutes and travel five to ten kilometres before disappearing. In extreme cases, however, they can last several hours and cross distances over 150km!

5) Tornadoes are measured using the Fujita Scale (or F-scale), ranging from F0 to F5, with F5 being the strongest and most destructive.

6) The deadliest tornado ever recorded was in Bangladesh in 1989. As it travelled through the Dhaka region of the country, more than 20 villages were destroyed and around 1,300 people were killed.

7) Most of the world's tornadoes occur in the United States in what's known as Tornado Alley. Stretching from west Texas to North Dakota, this area can see more than 200 tornadoes each year!

8) If a tornado occurs over water, it's called a waterspout.

9) Not all tornadoes are easy to see. In fact, they can be invisible until they pick up dust and debris, or a cloud forms within the spinning funnel.

10) The formation of a tornado is so complex that scientists still don't completely understand it. And what's more, the unpredictability of tornadoes makes them difficult - and dangerous - to study. A tornado will demolish everything in its path, including measuring equipment. And so, the secrets behind this incredible force of nature are yet to be discovered...

Photos: Getty Images UK

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Tornado Facts! - National Geographic Kids

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Find out ten facts about tornadoes here at National Geographic Kids. How powerful are tornadoes? How are they measured? Find out all about these powerful forces of nature!

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Tornadoes are one of the most violent and powerful types of weather. They consist of a very fast rotating column of air that usually forms a funnel shape. They can be very dangerous as their high speed winds can break apart buildings, knock down trees, and even toss cars into the air.

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Kids learn about tornadoes including how they form, characteristics, types including supercell and waterspout, categories, and fun facts.

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Weather Wiz Kids weather information for kids

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Weather Wiz Kids is a fun and safe website for kids about all the weather info they need to know. It contains tools for weather education, including weather games, activities, experiments, photos, a glossary and educational teaching materials for the classroom.