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Tornadoes are violently rotating columns of air that extend from a thunderstorm to the ground. Tornadoes can destroy buildings, flip cars, and create deadly flying debris.

A tornado can:

Happen anytime and anywhere.

Bring intense winds, over 200 miles per hour.

Look like funnels.

If you are under a tornado or severe weather warning:

Go to NOAA Weather Radio and your local news or official social media accounts for updated emergency information. Follow the instructions of state, local and tribal officials.

Go to a safe shelter immediately, such as a safe room, basement, storm cellar or a small interior room on the lowest level of a sturdy building.

Stay away from windows, doors, and outside walls.

Do not go under an overpass or bridge. You're safer in a low, flat location.

Watch out for flying debris that can cause injury or death.

Use your arms to protect your head and neck.

If you can't stay at home, make plans to go to a public shelter.

Preparing for a Tornado

Staying Safe During a Tornado

Staying Safe After a Tornado

Associated Content

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Learn what to do if you are under a tornado warning and how to stay safe when a tornado threatens. Prepare for Tornadoes Stay Safe During Stay Safe After Associated Content Tornadoes are violently rotating columns of air that extend from a thunderstorm to the ground.

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TORNADO SAFETY

In an average year, 1000 tornadoes are reported, resulting in 80 deaths and over 1,500 injuries. Tornadoes have been reported in every state and can happen at any time of the year. Take tornadoes seriously, because with winds blowing at 200 mph or more, they can destroy just about anything in its path. Always listen to the radio and television for the latest information and instructions for your area.

A TORNADO WATCH means tornadoes are possible in your area. Stay tuned to the radio or television news.

A TORNADO WARNING means a tornado is either on the ground or has been detected by Doppler radar. Seek shelter immediately!

BEFORE A TORNADO:

Have a disaster plan. Make sure everyone knows where to go in case a tornado threatens.

Make sure you know which county or parish you live in.

Prepare a disaster supplies kit for your home and car. Include a first aid kit, canned food and a can opener, bottled water, battery-operated radio, flashlight, protective clothing and written instructions on how to turn off electricity, gas, and water.

DURING A TORNADO:

Go to a basement.

If you do not have a basement, go to an interior room without windows on the lowest floor such as a bathroom or closet.

If you can, get under a sturdy piece of furniture, like a table.

If you live in a mobile home get out. They offer little protection against tornadoes.

Get out of automobiles. Do not try to outrun a tornado in your car, leave it immediately.

If you're outside, go to a ditch or low lying area and lie flat in it.

Stay away from fallen power lines and stay out of damaged areas.

IF YOU'RE AT SCHOOL DURING A TORNADO:

Every school should have a disaster plan and have frequent drills.

Basements offer the best protection.

Schools without basements should use interior rooms and hallways on the lowest floor away from windows.

Crouch down on your knees and protect your head with your arms.

AFTER A TORNADO:

Stay indoors until it is safe to come out.

Check for injured or trapped people, without putting yourself in danger.

Watch out for downed power lines.

Use a flashlight to inspect your home.

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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.

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Tornadoes are one of the most dangerous naturally occurring phenomena in the world. They're unpredictable, and that unpredictability can make them scary. We are starting to actually understand them, though, and understanding them can help us make sure we're safe around them. Here's a bit about what we know about tornadoes, and how to stay safe during one.

How and Where They Are Likely to Form

Despite how famous they are for their destruction, tornadoes are pretty rare. They occur mostly in the Midwest United States, and even then only in 1 in 1000 thunderstorms actually produce a tornado. Tornadoes form from very tall thunderstorm clouds called cumulonimbus clouds, but not all cumulonimbus thunderstorm clouds are going to form tornadoes. There are other factors that must be present.

In addition to large cumulonimbus clouds being present, the wind direction and speed has to be different at high altitudes than it is at low altitudes. So, if the wind twenty feet in the air is going north, the wind at, say, fifty feet up needs to be going south, and at a different speed. Due to this change in wind direction and speed, a funnel starts to form and it sucks the warmer air at the ground up into it. The funnel gets longer and longer, stretching from the cloud until it hits the ground. When the funnel hits the ground, only then is it considered a tornado.

Different Kinds of Tornadoes

Even though there are many different strengths of tornadoes, there are only a couple different types of tornadoes. These are supercell and non-supercell tornadoes.

Supercell tornadoes are the most common and usually the most dangerous type. These are tornadoes that form from supercell storms, where the updrafts and downdrafts that we mentioned earlier are pretty much equal, only varying slightly in speed. The reason that supercell tornadoes are usually the most dangerous is that they tend to stay on the ground the longest. When it comes to the amount of damage a storm can cause, it's not always about how strong the winds are. With tornadoes, the winds are always going to be strong. The real danger comes with duration of the storm. The tornado that stays on the ground the longest is usually the most devastating.

Non-supercell tornadoes are also dangerous, but do not usually last as long as supercell tornadoes, and they're also less common. Whereas supercell tornadoes are formed with wind moving horizontally, a non-supercell tornado is formed by air moving vertically. As wind moves from the funnel cloud to the ground, it stretches the rotating cloud until it touches the ground and becomes a tornado.

Scale Measurements of Tornadoes

Measuring tornadoes is something that has a long history, and even has some recent changes that makes it really interesting. Until February of 2007, the Fujita scale with the standard measurement of tornado strength, and to a degree it still is. The Fujita, or F scale was a number you could give a tornado and other scientists would know how strong the winds were. The scale went from F1 to F5, with F1 being the weakest tornado and F5 being the strongest.

In 2007, while the Fujita scale was working well for scientists, it was enhanced to account for the damage they cause. For instance, with the original Fujita scale, a scientist would know the estimated wind speed of an F3. With the Enhanced Fujita scale, a politician could know that an F3 is likely to level a school.

Safety Precautions

If you live in an area where tornadoes are likely to occur, it's so important that you know what to do when you hear that warning siren sound. If you're home, get to a basement as soon as possible and stay away from the windows. The walls in your basement won't collapse because they're below the wind, and the glass from windows can become extremely dangerous, so it's best to stay as far away from windows as possible. The one thing to keep in mind here is that if you live in a mobile home like a trailer, it's best, if you can, to have a storm shelter you know you can get to quickly, as trailers simply lack the structural strength and weight to stand up at all to even relatively minor tornadoes.

Emergency Essentials

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Tornadoes are one of the most dangerous naturally occurring phenomena in the world. They're unpredictable, and that unpredictability can make them scary. We are starting to actually understand them, though, and understanding them can help us make sure we're safe around them.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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To stay safe during a tornado, prepare a plan and an emergency kit, stay aware of weather conditions during thunderstorms, know the best places to shelter both indoors and outdoors, and always protect yourself from injury, especially your head. [short URL].

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A tornado is a type of storm in which powerful rotating winds form a column, which reaches from a cloud down toward the ground. The winds of a tornado are the strongest on...

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Tornadoes

What is a tornado?
A tornado is a violent rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground. The most violent tornadoes are capable of tremendous destruction with wind speeds of up to 300 mph. They can destroy large buildings, uproot trees and hurl vehicles hundreds of yards. They can also drive straw into trees. Damage paths can be in excess of one mile wide to 50 miles long. In an average year, 1000 tornadoes are reported nationwide.

How do tornadoes form?

Most tornadoes form from thunderstorms. You need warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and cool, dry air from Canada. When these two air masses meet, they create instability in the atmosphere. A change in wind direction and an increase in wind speed with increasing height creates an invisible, horizontal spinning effect in the lower atmosphere. Rising air within the updraft tilts the rotating air from horizontal to vertical. An area of rotation, 2-6 miles wide, now extends through much of the storm. Most strong and violent tornadoes form within this area of strong rotation.

Click Here to learn more about tornadoes from NOAA.

What are some other factors for tornadoes to form?
Several conditions are required for the development of tornadoes and the thunderstorm clouds with which most tornadoes are associated. Abundant low level moisture is necessary to contribute to the development of a thunderstorm, and a "trigger" (perhaps a cold front or other low level zone of converging winds) is needed to lift the moist air aloft. Once the air begins to rise and becomes saturated, it will continue rising to great heights to produce a thunderstorm cloud, if the atmosphere is unstable. An unstable atmosphere is one where the temperature decreases rapidly with height. Atmospheric instability can also occur when dry air overlays moist air near the earth's surface. Finally, tornadoes usually form in areas where winds at all levels of the atmosphere are not only strong, but also turn with height in a clockwise or veering direction.

What do tornadoes look like?
Tornadoes can appear as a traditional funnel shape, or in a slender rope-like form. Some have a churning, smoky look to them, and other contain "multiple vortices", which are small, individual tornadoes rotating around a common center. Even others may be nearly invisible, with only swirling dust or debris at ground levels as the only indication of the tornado's presence.

What is a funnel cloud? A funnel cloud is a rotating cone-shaped column of air extending downward from the base of a thunderstorm, but not touching the ground. When it reaches the ground it is called a tornado.

It is not fully understood about how exactly tornadoes form, grow and die. Tornado researchers are still trying to solve the tornado puzzle, but for every piece that seems to fit they often uncover new pieces that need to be studied. How do tornadoes stop?

A supercell thunderstorm is a long-lived thunderstorm whose updrafts and downdrafts are in near balance. These storms have the greatest tendency to produce tornadoes that stay on the ground for long periods of time. Supercell thunderstorms can produce violent tornadoes with winds exceeding 200 mph.
What is a supercell thunderstorm?

A mesocyclone is a rotating vortex of air within a supercell thunderstorm. Mesocyclones do not always produce tornadoes.
What is a mesocyclone?

A wall cloud is an abrupt lowering of a rain-free cumulonimbus base into a low-hanging accessory cloud. A wall cloud is usually situated in the southwest portion of the storm. A rotating wall cloud usually develops before tornadoes or funnel clouds. What is a microburst?
A microburst is a downdraft (sinking air) in a thunderstorm that is less than 2.5 miles in scale. Although microbursts are not as widely recognized as tornadoes, they can cause comparable, and in some cases, worse damage than some tornadoes produce. In fact, wind speeds as high as 150 mph are possible in extreme microburst cases.
What is a wall cloud?

A waterspout is just a weak tornado that forms over water. They are most common along the Gulf Coast. Waterspouts can sometimes move inland, becoming tornadoes causing damage and injuries.

What is a waterspout?

What is hail?
Hail is created when small water droplets are caught in the updraft of a thunderstorm. These water droplets are lifted higher and higher into the sky until they freeze into ice. Once they become heavy, they will start to fall. If the smaller hailstones get caught in the updraft again, they will get more water on them and get lifted higher in the sky and get bigger. Once they get lifted again, they freeze and fall. This happens over and over again until the hailstone is too heavy and then falls to the ground.

What is the largest hailstone recorded in the United States?
According to the National Weather Service, the largest hailstone is 8 inches in diameter and weights approximately 2 pounds. It fell in Vivian, South Dakota on July 23, 2010.
A gustnado is a short-lived, relatively weak whirlwind that forms along a gust front. A gust front is the surge of very gusty winds at the leading edge of a thunderstorm's outflow of air. Gustnadoes are not tornadoes. They do not connect with any cloud-base rotation. But because gustnadoes often have a spinning dust cloud at ground level, they are sometimes wrongly reported as tornadoes. Gustnadoes can do minor damage.

What is a gustnado?
A landspout is a very weak tornado that is not associated with a wall cloud or a mesocyclone. It is the land equivalent of a waterspout.

What is a landspout?
A dust devil generally forms in the hot sun during the late morning or early afternoon hours. These are mostly harmless whirlwinds and are triggered by light desert breezes that create a swirling plume of dust with speeds rarely over 70 mph. These differ from tornadoes in that they are not associated with a thunderstorm (or any cloud) and are usually very weak.

What is a dust devil? Tornadoes can happen at any time of the year and at any time of the day. In the southern states, peak tornado season is from March through May. Peak times for tornadoes in the northern states are during the summer. A few southern states have a second peak time for tornado outbreaks in the fall. Tornadoes are most likely to occur between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m.

The geography of the central part of the United States, known as the Great Plains, is suited to bring all of the ingredients together to forms tornadoes. More than 500 tornadoes typically occur in this area every year and is why it is commonly known as "Tornado Alley". Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana all make up Tornado Alley. When are tornadoes most likely to occur?

Where are tornadoes most likely to occur?

Know the Lingo

TORNADO WATCH - Tornadoes are possible in your area. Stay tuned to the radio or television news.
TORNADO WARNING - A tornado is either on the ground or has been detected by Doppler radar. Seek shelter immediately!

Click Here to see if there are any active warnings in your area.

Know the Facts
Tornadoes can occur at any time of the year. nd winds less than 110 mph.

No terrain is safe from tornadoes.

Never open windows in severe weather situations. This allows damaging wind and debris to enter the structure.

69% of all tornadoes are labeled "weak tornadoes" meaning they have a lifetime of 1-10+ minutes a

SCALE

WIND SPEED

POSSIBLE DAMAGE

Enhanced,
Operational
Fujita Scale

29% of all tornadoes are labeled "strong tornadoes" meaning they last 20 minutes or longer and winds reach 110-205 mph.
2% of all tornadoes are labeled "violent tornadoes" and can last over an hour.

Fujita Scale of Tornado Intensity

Tornado Safety Tips
BEFORE A TORNADO: Have a disaster plan. Make sure everyone knows where to go in case a tornado threatens. Make sure you know which county or parish you live in. Prepare a kit with emergency food for your home. Have enough food and water for at least 3 days.

AFTER A TORNADO: Stay indoors until it is safe to come out. Check for injured or trapped people, without putting yourself in danger. Watch out for downed power lines. Use a flashlight to inspect your home. Tornado Activities

Lesson Plan: Here are some great lesson plans on learning about tornado safety. Note: This is a PDF file, so you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader. DURING A TORNADO: Go to a basement. If you do not have a basement, go to an interior room without windows on the lowest floor such as a bathroom or closet. If you can, get under a sturdy piece of furniture, like a table. If you live in a mobile home get out. They offer little protection against tornadoes. Get out of automobiles. Do not try to outrun a tornado in your car, leave it immediately. If you're outside, go to a ditch or low lying area and lie flat in it. Stay away from fallen power lines and stay out of damaged areas.
Tornado Experiment: Here is a great experiment that allows the kids to make a tornado in a bottle.
IF YOU'RE AT SCHOOL DURING A TORNADO: Every school should have a disaster plan and have frequent drills. Basements offer the best protection. Schools without basements should use interior rooms and hallways on the lowest floor away from windows. Crouch down on your knees and protect your head with your arms.
Tornado Experiment: Here is a great experiment that allows the kids to make a tornado in a jar.
Pressure Experiment: Here is an experiment that shows how pressure is created in our atmosphere by sucking an egg in a bottle. This is a very cool experiment!
Science Fair Project Ideas: Here is a complete list of science fair project ideas. Discover the science behind the weather that impacts us every day.

Make A Barometer Experiment: Here is an experiment that allows the kids to make a barometer.

Evaporation Experiment: Here is an experiment that shows kids how evaporation takes place.

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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.

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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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Tornado damage at an industrial facility just north of Linwood, Kan. (Matthew Cappucci)

As we flip the calendar on the decade, many meteorological events will remain etched into our memory. But few tempests can rival the power, beauty and horror of a tornado.

The 2010s featured their fair share of memorable tornadoes. 2011 included the most extreme tornado outbreak on record. Destructive tornadoes peppered population centers, altering lives forever. Others remained over open fields, as if posing for a camera.

Here are the 10 most extreme U.S. weather events of the 2010s

We look back - in no particular order - on 10 of the most memorable tornado events of the 2010s.

The tornado and tornado events listed are not necessarily the most damaging and deadly in every case; some are included for their unique meteorological qualities and/or appearance.

Caution: Some videos contain explicit language.

Phil Campbell-Hackleburg, Ala.: April 27, 2011

This tornado was perhaps the most violent on a monumental day of destruction that accompanied a most vicious tornado outbreak. More than 200 tornadoes touched down across the Deep South and Tennessee Valley on April 27, 2011. The most menacing among them was the Phil Campbell-Hackleburg tornado in northwest Alabama, which killed 72, making it the deadliest in state history and, at the time, the deadliest nationwide since 1955.

It was on the ground for an astounding 2 hours 15 minutes, plowing a path 132 miles long and as much as a mile and a quarter wide. At times, the tornado was shrouded in rugged, low cloud cover and emblazoned with an eerie blue hue. In a heavily forested area with low cloud bases and storm motion approaching highway speeds, many people didn't know they were looking at a tornado until seconds before it hit.

The depth of the destruction was incredible. In Phil Campbell, a 25-foot chunk of pavement was ripped from the road and tossed a third of a mile. Vehicles were carried the distance of two football fields. A brick home was leveled, with debris strewn as far as 40 yards downwind.

Despite the immense death toll, this tornado - which hit comparatively smaller population centers - was dwarfed in media coverage by what transpired in Tuscaloosa or Birmingham, and just outside of Huntsville. Hit by dozens upon dozens of tornadoes in one day, the Yellowhammer State was overwhelmed.

After the storm: Surviving the April 27, 2011 Tuscaloosa tornado disaster

The Bennington tornado was exactly the kind of tornado that stormchasers covet. It moved at less than 2 mph at times, dissipated a little over two miles from its touchdown location and lasted an hour. The photogenic tornado put on a show, all while avoiding causing any injury or loss of human life.

Surreal timelapse of tornado nearly stationary for 45 minutes (Bennington, Kansas)

Officially it was rated an EF3, but mobile Doppler radar measured 247 mph winds just 100 meters above the ground - well into the EF5 range. The local National Weather Service office believed that EF4 winds made it down to the surface but noted that "one cannot rate tornado intensity by non-damage data sources."

Regardless, the nearly mile-wide tornado was a sight to behold.

Amid a volatile atmospheric setup, one major supercell thunderstorm in Nebraska produced five tornadoes - four of which were rated EF4 strength. Not only that, but two of the tornadoes were simultaneously on the ground less than a mile apart. One hit the town of Pilger, killing one person. The other developed to the southeast.

The duo performed a twister tango that has yet to be replicated to such a visually striking degree.

Twin tornadoes in Nebraska: chilling multimedia from apocalyptic scene

El Reno and Moore may be two of the most destructive tornado-prone communities on the planet.

On May 24, 2011, a string of nasty supercells developed over west central Oklahoma, moving east and approaching the Interstate 35 corridor during rush hour. It was the recipe for a disastrous evening.

An EF5 tornado developed west of El Reno, crossing Interstate 40 and moving north of Oklahoma City on its 63-mile path. Nine people died.

Farther south, a pair of EF4 tornadoes touched down. One of them stopped just short of Moore, Okla. (The other dissipated before entering Norman.)

Fast-forward to May 20, 2013, when Moore was hit head-on. A devastating EF5 tornado claimed two dozen lives as it leveled a neighborhood just a few blocks south of where a notorious F5 struck on May 3, 1999.

A week and a half later, parts of El Reno were hit again - by a 2.6-mile-wide, world-record-setting tornado with EF5 winds. It expanded rapidly, moved erratically and caught even veteran storm chasers off guard. Legendary storm chaser and engineer Tim Samaras and his chase partners were killed by the tornado. His vehicle was reportedly compressed and carried one-half mile.

'You can only roll the dice so many times:' Tim Samaras lived life like a twister

A single supercell thunderstorm produced about a dozen high-contrast tornadoes that danced ominously close to - but just west of - Dodge City, Kan. At multiple times, more than one tornado was on the ground simultaneously. At one point, three twisters were all visible at once. Five EF3 tornadoes and three EF2 tornadoes were confirmed in western Kansas.

The next day featured a violent tornado near Chapman, Kan.

May 7 to 10, 2016, proved to be a memorable outbreak of severe weather: 57 tornadoes touched down between Oklahoma and Kentucky as a low-pressure system along the U.S.-Canada border dragged a cold front eastward.

Several weak tornadoes occurred in Colorado in May 8, but the next day tornadoes swarmed the zone just west of Interstate 35 in Oklahoma. A powerful EF4 tornado touched down near Katie, killing one person and causing damage or destruction to several widely spaced homes in the area.

Farther to the east, the same supercell thunderstorm spawned a mile-wide wedge tornado that carved an extensive path near the towns of Sulphur and Davis. Two children clung to a toilet as their home was ripped to shreds around them. That tornado was rated an EF3.

That same storm also produced an extremely unusual anticyclonic (clockwise) tornado in the rain and hail-pelted downdraft region of the storm. Nearly all supercellular tornadoes spin counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere. However, the exact nature of that potential tornado is still being debated.

Elsewhere, the day featured a spectacular LP "low precipitation" supercell over Lake Thunderbird, the storm's barrow corkscrew-shaped updraft captured by local news helicopters and broadcast live on the air.

With a population of 3, Capitol, Mont., isn't exactly a booming city. Despite a number of picturesque tornadoes touching down this day, much of the national media's attention was focused instead on a powerful derecho blasting from the Corn Belt south through the Tennessee Valley and all the way to the Gulf Coast.

This particular tornado was rated an EF3 with winds to 136 mph. It may have been stronger, but save for trees and one home, there wasn't much to hit along the Montana-South Dakota border.

Before this night, "no tornadoes had previously been documented in the Texas Panhandle during the month of November," according to the National Weather Service. At least five twisters touched down in Gray County, which includes the city of Pampa. Pampa was hit by an F4 tornado on June 8, 1995.

Multiple rounds of supercell storms moved over the same areas during this November night in 2015. One of the tornadoes was rated an EF3.

Things got even more interesting when a twister moved over a cornfield, carrying corn stalks high enough in the sky to serve as a nucleus for hail production.

May 22, 2011 - a day that will live in meteorological infamy. A cataclysmic EF5 tornado scoured much of Joplin, Mo.; 158 people died in the storm, making it the deadliest U.S. tornado since 1947. It remains the seventh deadliest in U.S. history.

Questions were raised about the efficacy of tornado warnings issued and how they were communicated. Jasper County, Mo., had also been subjected to an unusually high false alarm rate with tornado warnings over the previous several years preceding the Joplin tornado's vicious onslaught.

Amid the horrific Carr Fire, which burned nearly 230,000 acres in Northern California in 2018, a tornado developed with 143 mph winds. Although some called it a "fire whirl," it wasn't that; fire whirls usually exist on smaller scales with rotating winds that snake their way up from the ground. This was an actual tornado made up of fire.

The pyrocumulonimbus cloud that formed from the fire's smoke plume behaved like a supercell thunderstorm. Environmental winds favored rotating updrafts. Combined with explosive rising motion just before sunset, the ingredients were ripe for tornadogenesis. The fire tornado was caught on video. It reportedly killed three members of the same family. The twister toppled large metal transmission lines, uprooted trees and caused house damage.

California's Carr Fire may have unleashed the most intense fire tornado ever observed in the U.S.

If the National Weather Service were to list this in their official database as a tornado, it would be the strongest tornado ever recorded in central-northern California ... and would be the state's first killer twister.

Springfield/Monson, Mass.: June 1, 2011

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Ten of the most memorable and extraordinary tornado events of the 2010s

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As we flip the calendar on the decade, many meteorological events will remain etched into our memory. But few tempests can rival the power, beauty and horror of a tornado. The 2010s featured their fair share of memorable tornadoes. 2011 included the most extreme tornado outbreak on record.

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The U.S. National Hurricane Center ( NHC for short), is a department of the National Weather Service's Tropical Prediction Center, which is responsible for tracking and forecasting the likely behavior of tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes. The NHC headquarters are in Miami, Florida.

When tropical storm or hurricane conditions are predicted within 36 hours, the center issues the proper watches and warnings through the news media and NOAA Weather Radio. Although it is an organization of the United States, the World Meteorological Organization has designated the NHC as Regional Specialized Meteorological Center for the North Atlantic and eastern and central Pacific Ocean. In other words, the NHC is the central source of information for all tropical cyclone forecasts and observations happening in these areas, despite of their effect on the US.

Images for kids

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National Hurricane Center Facts for Kids

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The U.S. National Hurricane Center ( NHC for short), is a department of the National Weather Service's Tropical Prediction Center, which is responsible for tracking and forecasting the likely behavior of tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes. The NHC headquarters are in Miami, Florida.

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Preparing for a Hurricane | Kids Discover Online

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The following questions were answered by meteorologists Barbara McNaught Watson and Al Peterlin.

When it looks like the hurricane is a day or two away from land, we start to alert people that they need to prepare in case the storm hits. We use special computers to help us predict how the stream of air will move and how the hurricane will move in that stream of air.

We still have much to learn. At 24 hours, our accuracy averages to within about a 125 miles of where a hurricane hits land. So the hurricane warning goes out for a rather large portion of the coast in case the storm suddenly veers to the right or left.

As your pine cone continues downstream, it may move into a pool of water that seems to have no specific direction to it and the pine cone may meander around. This can happen with hurricanes, too, and makes them very unpredictable. Some hurricanes have sat over the same area for a couple days or have done loops and meandered around for almost a month before making landfall on a coast. (Barbara McNaught Watson)

But these records did not come from meteorologists. Benjamin Franklin was one of the country's first meteorologists. Thomas Jefferson and George Washington also kept good weather records. The United States has kept track of hurricane paths since 1871. The Army Signal Corps monitored the weather until the birth of the U.S. Weather Bureau, which later became the National Weather Service in 1970. Back in the 1800s, much of our information came from ships that traveled to and from the Caribbean.

The first recorded hurricane in 1871 formed near the Florida Keys and moved west into Texas. Of the six storms that year, four of them affected Florida and Georgia. (Barbara McNaught Watson)

Tornadoes are much smaller events, usually lasting only a short time and covering only a small area, but they are very, very violent winds. Tornadoes need the collision of very warm moist air and very dry cold air and some upper level winds to act like a chimney to move energy away from the storm. (Al Peterlin)

A tornado starts as a thunderstorm and then turns into a funnel cloud. A hurricane starts as a bunch of clouds that spin around and turn into a tropical storm. They both can start over water, and both of them have eyes. (Barbara McNaught Watson)

A tornado, however, is spawned from a thunderstorm. A thunderstorm takes about 30 minutes to form and reach maturity (when thunder and rain occurs). Some tornadoes, which are called "landspouts" over land and "waterspouts" over water, can develop during this stage. The stronger tornadoes are believed to come from thunderstorms that are rotating (or spinning) slowly. In these storms, it is believed to take about 45 minutes for all the ingredients to come together. That is not very long! (Barbara McNaught Watson)

Warm ocean waters fuel hurricanes, and it has been theorized that warmer ocean waters would lead to more intense hurricanes. Warmer waters might also increase the length of the hurricane season, which could mean more storms, but the difference would not likely be large.

I cannot say for sure that global warming is occurring because I don't think we have the data to support it yet. It is interesting to note, though, that in an average hurricane season the Atlantic will see two hurricanes reach 115 m.p.h. sustained-wind speeds. That classifies them as "intense hurricanes." In 1996, we had four or five intense hurricanes (Bertha, Fran, Hortense, Isadore). For the number of total hurricanes that have formed, this is a high percentage and very unusual! (Barbara McNaught Watson)

When I was 11 years old, the remnants of Hurricane Agnes struck Pennsylvania. I lived in a small town north of Philadelphia. I remember going to bed listening to the sound of the rain hitting the tin porch roof outside my window. I had never heard it rain so hard. I could also hear water rushing down the creek near our house. When I woke up the next morning, the rain had stopped and the sun was out, but I could still hear the roar of the creek. It was flooding the town and water was in some homes and stores. We lived up on a hill so we were not flooded.

Over the next few days we watched the television news reports of the devastating floods. Some people lost their homes and many more were damaged. My mother collected up clothes and blankets that we could donate. Then we gathered with others and took a bus to one of the cities that had bad flooding. The water was gone now and the river was back to its normal level, but it left behind mud and debris.

We were organized into work groups and went out to people's homes to help them clean up and begin repairs. One house we went to was three miles from the river and yet the water had risen to five feet in their home! I will never forget the sound of the hard rain, the roar of the creek, the vision of my town being flooded and the television pictures. I will always feel good about what we did to help those who needed it after the flood. (Barbara McNaught Watson)

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Meteorologists Answer Hurricane Questions | Scholastic

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The following questions were answered by meteorologists Barbara McNaught Watson and Al Peterlin. When it looks like the hurricane is a day or two away from land, we start to alert people that they need to prepare in case the storm hits.

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Hurricanes only form over really warm ocean water of 80°F or warmer. The atmosphere (the air) must cool off very quickly the higher you go. Also, the wind must be blowing in the same direction and at the same speed to force air upward from the ocean surface. Winds flow outward above the storm allowing the air below to rise. Hurricanes typically form between 5 to 15 degrees latitude north and south of the equator. The To learn more about hurricanes, Prepare a disaster supplies kit for your home and car. Include a first aid kit, canned food and a can opener, bottled water, battery-operated radio, flashlight, protective clothing and written instructions on how to turn off electricity, gas, and water. Have a NOAA weather radio handy with plenty of batteries, so you can listen to storm advisories. Have some cash handy as well, because following a hurricane, banks and ATMs may be temporarily closed. Make sure your car is filled with gasoline. Hurricanes

What is a hurricane?
A hurricane is a huge storm! It can be up to 600 miles across and have strong winds spiraling inward and upward at speeds of 75 to 200 mph. Each hurricane usually lasts for over a week, moving 10-20 miles per hour over the open ocean. Hurricanes gather heat and energy through contact with warm ocean waters. Evaporation from the seawater increases their power. Hurricanes rotate in a counter-clockwise direction around an "eye" in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise direction in the Southern Hemisphere. The center of the storm or "eye" is the calmest part. It has only light winds and fair weather. When they come onto land, the heavy rain, strong winds and large waves can damage buildings, trees and cars.

>Click Here to get your very own Hurricane Tracking Chart.

How do hurricanes form?
Coriolis Force is needed to create the spin in the hurricane and it becomes too weak near the equator, so hurricanes can never form there.

What is storm surge?
Storm surges are frequently the most devastating element of a hurricane. As a hurricane's winds spiral around and around the storm, they push water into a mound at the storm's center. This mound of water becomes dangerous when the storm reaches land because it causes flooding along the coast. The water piles up, unable to escape anywhere but on land as the storm carries it landward. A hurricane will cause more storm surge in areas where the ocean floor slopes gradually. This causes major flooding.
As you watch the storm-surge animations, notice the effect that the physical geography of each coastline has on storm surge. Also, note the waves on top of the ocean's surface. Wind, waves, and sea-level rise all contribute to storm-surge damage.

Shallow-Water Coastline

Deep-Water Coastline

With technology the way it is, there are computer models that allow forecasters to predict the amount of storm surge that will affect a coastal area. These are called Slosh Models and take into account a storm's strength, its path, how the ocean shallows, and the shape of the land. Then it calculates how much storm surge a hurricane will probably cause.

The Atlantic hurricane season is from June 1 to November 30, but most hurricanes occur during the fall months. The Eastern Pacific hurricane season is from May 15 to November 30. (Below is a graphic that shows you when hurricanes are most active across parts of the world.)
When does hurricane season start?

Who names hurricanes?
From 1950 to 1952, tropical cyclones of the North Atlantic Ocean were identified by the phonetic alphabet (Able-Baker-Charlie-etc.), but in 1953 the US Weather Bureau switched to women's names. The rest of the world eventually caught on, and naming rights now go by the World Meteorological Organization, which uses different sets of names depending on the part of the world the storm is in. Around the U.S., only women's names were used until 1979, when it was decided that they should alternate a list that included men's names too. There's 6 different name lists that alternate each year. If a hurricane does significant damage, its name is retired and replaced with another.
Atlantic Hurricane Names
Eastern Pacific Hurricane Names
Nothing except geography. Tropical storms occur in several of the world's oceans, and except for their names, they are essentially the same type of storm. In the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and the Eastern Pacific Ocean, they are called hurricanes. In the Western Pacific Ocean, they are called typhoons. In the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal, and Australia, these types of storms are called cyclones.
What is the difference between a hurricane and a typhoon?
(This is a satellite animation of Hurricane Georges, which struck the Mississippi Gulf coast in 1998.)

The brave "hurricane hunters" work for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Each mission lasts about ten hours, with the crews passing four to six times through the storm. The planes carry radar, sophisticated computers, and weather instruments that determine characteristics such as temperature, air pressure, wind speed, and wind direction inside the hurricane. The crews also release instruments that measure temperature, air pressure, and wind at different levels as the devices drop through the hurricane toward the ocean. By mission's end, NOAA can warn everyone in the hurricane's path. (Below is a satellite image of Hurricane Mitch back in October 1998. The Hurricane Hunters flew into the eye of Mitch just as this Category 5 hurricane with winds of 155 mph smacked right into Central America.)

Who are the "Hurricane Hunters"?
Coastal beach erosion is the wearing away of land, the removal of beach or dune sediments by wave action, tidal currents, wave currents, or drainage. Waves are generated by storms, wind, or hurricanes and can cause coastal erosion. This may take the form of long-term losses of sediment and rocks, or merely the temporary redistribution of coastal sediments.

What is coastal beach erosion?

Hurricanes...Past and Present
Tropical Tracks: Click to see the tracks of this year's storms.

Know the Lingo Past Hurricane Info: Click to find all the data and information about a specific hurricane by just knowing the year.
HURRICANE WATCH - Hurricane conditions with sustained winds of 74 mph or greater are possible in your area within the next 36 hours. This WATCH should trigger your family's disaster plan, and protective measures should be initiated. Especially, those actions that require extra time such as securing a boat and leaving a barrier island.
TROPICAL STORM WATCH - Tropical Storm conditions with sustained winds from 39 -74 mph are possible in your area within the next 36 hours.
HURRICANE WARNING - Hurricane conditions are expected in your area within 24 hours. Once this WARNING has been issued, your family should be in the process of completing protective actions and deciding the safest location to be during the storm.

COASTAL FLOOD WATCH - The possibility exists for the inundation of land areas along the coast within the next 12 to 36 hours.

COASTAL FLOOD WARNING - Land areas along the coast are expected to become, or have become, inundated by sea water above the typical tide action.

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY - A small craft advisory is a type of warning issued by the National Weather Service, most frequently in coastal areas. It is issued when winds have reached, or are expected to reach within 12 hours, a speed marginally less than that which is considered gale force, usually 25-38 mph.

Click Here to see if there are any active warnings in your area.
Hurricane Stages
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale

Category

Winds (MPH)

Pressure (Millibars)

Pressure (Inches)

Storm Surge
(Feet)

Damage

3

111-130

964-945

28.47-27.91

9'-12'

Extensive

Click Here to watch a variety of videos teaching you the ins and outs of nature's fury. I would like to give a special thanks to Pinellas County Emergency management for putting these instructional videos together.
Hurricane Safety Tips

BEFORE A HURRICANE: Have a disaster plan and a pet plan ready. Before a storm threatens, contact your veterinarian or local humane society for information on preparing your pets for an emergency. Board up windows and b ring in outdoor objects that could blow away. Make sure you know which county or parish you live in and k now where all the evacuation routes are.

Stay away from low-lying and flood prone areas. Always stay indoors during a hurricane, because strong winds will blow things around. Leave mobile homes and to go to a shelter. DURING A HURRICANE: If your home isn't on higher ground, go to a shelter. If emergency managers say to evacuate, then do so immediately.
AFTER A HURRICANE: Stay indoors until it is safe to come out. Check for injured or trapped people, without putting yourself in danger. Watch out for flooding which can happen after a hurricane. Do not attempt to drive in flooding water. Stay away from standing water. It may be electrically charged from underground or downed power lines. Don't drink tap water until officials say its safe to do so.

Evacuation Tips: Here is a list of tips on what you should do, if you chose to evacuate as a hurricane approaches.
Hurricane Activities
Hurricane Supply Checklist: Here is a list of what what you will need if you chose to stay at your home during a hurricane.
Lesson Plan: Here is a great lesson plan on learning about hurricane safety. In this activity, Owlie teaches kids about hurricanes and quizzes them about what they learned. Note: This is a PDF file, so you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Lesson Plan: Here is a great lesson plan on understanding hurricanes. Students will learn how wind speed increases the height and why higher waves occur in shallower water. This activity is for grades 6-8.

Lesson Plan: Here is a great interactive lesson plan on allowing kids to create their very own hurricane. It lets you try to create ideal hurricane conditions by changing the winds, latitude, moisture, and sea temperature. It even keeps score! This is a great activity for 5-8th graders.Lesson Plan: Here is a great lesson plan on elementary reading comprehension. This lesson contains a broader vocabulary, more hurricane facts, and more thought-provoking writing prompts. It works well for grades 3-5. Note: This is a PDF file, so you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader. Lesson Plan: Here is a great interactive lesson plan that lets kids aim a hurricane. It lets you move the hurricane symbol, high pressure symbol and low pressure symbol to track your very own hurricane. Sometimes your hurricane will make landfall, other times it misses the U.S. all together. It lets kid understand how important the setup of weather impacts where hurricanes go.

Pressure Experiment: Here is an experiment that shows how pressure is created in our atmosphere by sucking an egg in a bottle. This is a very cool experiment!
Science Fair Project Ideas: Here is a complete list of science fair project ideas. Discover the science behind the weather that impacts us every day.
Make A Barometer Experiment: Here is an experiment that allows the kids to make a barometer.

Evaporation Experiment: Here is an experiment that shows kids how evaporation takes place.

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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.

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You feel the ground suddenly shake, and nearby objects are trembling. An earthquake is happening.

Also called a temblor, an earthquake is caused by the movement of parts of the Earth's crust, its outermost layer. They happen millions of times a year, but most are so small people don't even feel them.

But powerful earthquakes can cause landslides, tsunamis, flooding, and other dangerous events. Most damage and deaths happen in places where a lot of people live, because the shaking causes windows to break, structures to collapse, fire to break out, and other dangers.

Learn more about these unpredictable Earth tremors-and what to do if one rattles near you.

How earthquakes develop

The action all starts thousands of miles below your feet.

Picture Earth as a hard-boiled egg: Earth's core is the yolk, and the mantle is the white part. The outer crust is the eggshell.

People live on the surface of the crust. Below the surface-but still within the crust-are tectonic plates. Like gigantic puzzle pieces, these huge slabs of rock encircle the Earth. The seven major plates are named for the regions they rest under: the African, Antarctic, Eurasian, Indo-Australian, North American, Pacific, and South American tectonic plates

Tectonic plates aren't connected but are close together. Where they meet along their edges is called a fault. When heat from the Earth's core creates currents in the crust, the tectonic plates can scrape, bump, or drag along each other. This is what causes an earthquake-and why the surface sometimes cracks like an eggshell.

How to measure earthquakes

About a half-million quakes rock the Earth every day. Usually the quake is too small, too far below the surface, or too deep in the seafloor to be felt. Some, however, are so powerful they can be felt thousands of miles away.

The spot on the surface just above where an earthquake starts is called the epicenter. Ripples called seismic waves travel out from the epicenter. This causes vibrations that people can feel, sometimes very far from the epicenter.

How far away people can feel an earthquake's vibrations depends on its size, or magnitude. Scientists base the magnitude on the strength and duration of the quake's seismic waves. The higher the number, the more powerful the earthquake: A magnitude 3 to 4.9 earthquake is considered minor; 5 to 6.9 is moderate to strong; 7 to 7.9 is major; and 8 or more is an extremely powerful temblor.

As the crust settles after an earthquake, another temblor called an aftershock can happen. Usually, aftershocks are not as powerful as the first quake but can still be very strong.

Geologists can't predict earthquakes. But they're working to change that with new research and technology.

Where earthquakes happen

Earthquakes occur along faults, the areas where tectonic plates meet. About 80 percent of earthquakes occur along the rim of the Pacific Ocean. Called the Ring of Fire because of the large number of volcanoes there, the area is a meeting point for many tectonic plates.

Earthquakes are also common in California because the region sits on top of the Pacific and North American tectonic plates. Temblors happen when these two plates grind against each other. About two-thirds of this movement happens along the San Andreas Fault.

Another major earthquake area in the United States is the New Madrid Seismic Zone, which affects Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Illinois.

How to survive an earthquake

Earthquakes can happen anytime or anywhere-even if you don't live near a fault. So it's a good idea to prepare.

* Talk with your family about the safest places in your home in case an earthquake hits. This could be under a sturdy table or next to an interior wall (one that is not connected to the outside).

* Look for heavy items that could fall or break during a quake, and move them to safer spots.

* Ask your parents to make sure you have an emergency kit containing things like first-aid supplies, a flashlight, a cell phone charger, and a battery-operated radio. Your family should also have enough food and water for at least 72 hours

DURING AN EARTHQUAKE: Most earthquakes last only 10 to 30 seconds, so it's important to get to a safe place fast. Remember three things during an earthquake: drop, cover, and hold on.

Drop: Get down on your hands and knees and crawl to your shelter.

Cover: Underneath a sturdy table, desk, or bed, cover your head and neck with your arms. If furniture isn't nearby, crouch down on your knees with your arms over your head and neck next to an interior wall. (Don't stand under a doorway-they can easily collapse.)

Hold on: If you're under a piece of furniture, hold on with one hand and move with the furniture if it starts sliding. Stay where you are until the shaking stops.

AFTER AN EARTHQUAKE: Once the earthquake ends, check for injuries. Listen to a radio for any warnings and instructions from official organizations like the United States Geological Survey. Be prepared for any aftershocks.

Text and images adapted from Everything Volcanoes and Earthquakes: Earthshaking photos, facts, and fun!

(Learn more about earthquakes at National Geographic.)

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Learn the science behind how earthquakes happen-and how you can stay safe if one hits.

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What is an earthquake?
Earthquakes are the shaking, rolling or sudden shock of the earth's surface. They are the Earth's natural means of releasing stress. More than a million earthquakes rattle the world each year. The West Coast is most at risk of having an earthquake, but earthquakes can happen in the Midwest and along the East Coast. Earthquakes can be felt over large areas although they usually last less than one minute. Earthquakes cannot be predicted - although scientists are working on it!

Click Here to learn more about earthquakes from USGS.

What causes an earthquake?
There are about 20 plates along the surface of the earth that move continuously and slowly past each other. When the plates squeeze or stretch, huge rocks form at their edges and the rocks shift with great force, causing an earthquake. Think of it this way: Imagine holding a pencil horizontally. If you were to apply a force to both ends of the pencil by pushing down on them, you would see the pencil bend. After enough force was applied, the pencil would break in the middle, releasing the stress you have put on it. The Earth's crust acts in the same way. As the plates move they put forces on themselves and each other. When the force is large enough, the crust is forced to break. When the break occurs, the stress is released as energy which moves through the Earth in the form of waves, which we feel and call an earthquake. (Graphic Credit: Wheeling Jesuit University/NASA Classroom of the Future)

Click Here to see an animation of an earthquake. It's great for kids, because they get to see how it actually happens!

What is a fault?
A fault is an area of stress in the earth where broken rocks slide past each other, causing a crack in the Earth's surface. There are the major types of faults: dip-slip normal, dip-slip reverse, strike-slip, and oblique-slip.

What are plate tectonics?
The theory of plate tectonics is a interesting story of continents drifting from place to place breaking apart, colliding, and grinding against each other. The plate tectonic theory is supported by a wide range of evidence that considers the earth's crust and upper mantle to be composed of several large, thin, relatively rigid plates that move relative to one another. (See plate tectonic graphic above.) The plates are all moving in different directions and at different speeds. Sometimes the plates crash together, pull apart or sideswipe each other. When this happens, it commonly results in earthquakes.

Continental Drift: To see this animation again, just refresh this page! This animation shows you what our planet looked like millions of years ago and what it looks like now! (Graphic Credit: Geology Department at University of California, Berkeley)

What is a seismograph?
A seismograph is an instrument used for recording the intensity and duration of an earthquake.

Click Here to calculate the strength of earthquakes!

What is a tsunami? A tsunami is a large ocean wave usually caused by an underwater earthquake or a volcanic explosion. Tsunamis are NOT tidal waves. Tidal waves are caused by the forces of the moon, sun, and planets upon the tides, as well as the wind as it moves over the water. With typical waves, water flows in circles, but with a tsunami, water flows straight. This is why tsunamis cause so much damage!

Know the Lingo

EPICENTER - The point on the earth's surface directly above the source of the earthquake.

SEISMIC WAVES - The energy created by the quake travels in waves from the epicenter, where they are the strongest. The waves shake buildings, structures and the earth vertically, causing them to move horizontally!

RICHTER SCALE - A measurement of an earthquake's intensity. Each one-point increase on the scale indicates ten times the amount of shaking and 33 times the amount of energy. The energy released by a large earthquake may be equal to 10,000 times the energy of the first atomic bomb.

4

Minor Earthquake

5

Moderate Earthquake

6

Strong Earthquake

7

Major Earthquake

8

Great Earthquake

Richter Scale

Earthquake Safety Tips
BEFORE AN EARTHQUAKE: Have a disaster plan. Emergency preparedness can save lives. Choose a safe place in every room. It's best to get under a sturdy piece of furniture like a table or a desk where nothing can fall on you. Practice DROP, COVER AND HOLD ON! Drop under something sturdy, hold on, and protect your eyes by pressing your face against your arm. If you live in an earthquake prone area, bolt tall furniture to the wall and install strong latches to cupboards. Prepare a first aid kit for your home. By taking special precautions and checking for hazards before a disaster strikes, you will be much more likely to stay safe. DURING AN EARTHQUAKE: DROP, COVER AND HOLD ON! Stay indoors until the shaking stops. Stay away from windows. If you're in bed, hold on and stay there, protecting your head with a pillow. If you're outdoors, find a clear spot away from buildings, trees and power lines. Then, drop to the ground. If you're in a car, slow down and drive to a safe place. Stay in the car until the shaking stops.

AFTER THE SHAKING STOPS: Check for injuries. Inspect your home for damage. Eliminate fire hazards, so turn off the gas if you think its leaking. Expect aftershocks. Each time you feel one, DROP, COVER AND HOLD ON.
Earthquake Activities
Lesson Plan: Here is a great lesson plan on learning about how thrust faults are responsible for the uplift of many mountain ranges across the world, including the Los Angeles Basin. This is a great lesson plan for middle and high school students.

Lesson Plan: Here is a great lesson plan keeping track of earthquakes around the world. In this activity, kids keep a record of the location of earthquakes for a week and learn about plate tectonics.

Earthquake Experiment: Here is a great experiment that explains how to prepare for an earthquake.Science Fair Ideas: Here is a list of science fair project ideas that deal with earthquakes.

Science Fair Project Ideas: Here is a complete list of science fair project ideas. Discover the science behind the weather that impacts us every day.

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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.

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A student doing an experiment in the rock physics lab.

A trench dug across a fault to learn about past earthquakes.

A GPS instrument measures slow movements of the ground.

A scientist stands in front of a fault scarp in southern California.

Damage to badly-constructed buildings after an earthquake.

Scientists doing field work and looking at their notes.

Children's Privacy Policy

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USGS Earthquake Hazards Program, responsible for monitoring, reporting, and researching earthquakes and earthquake hazards

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In an earthquake, huge masses of rock move beneath the Earth's surface and cause the ground to shake. Earthquakes occur constantly around the world. Often they are too small...

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Drop. Cover. Hold on.

In most situations, you can protect yourself if you immediately:

DROP down onto your hands and knees before the earthquake knocks you down. This position protects you from falling but allows you to still move if necessary.

COVER your head and neck (and your entire body if possible) underneath a sturdy table or desk. If there is no shelter nearby, get down near an interior wall or next to low-lying furniture that won't fall on you, and cover your head and neck with your arms and hands.

HOLD ON to your shelter (or to your head and neck) until the shaking stops. Be prepared to move with your shelter if the shaking shifts it around.

If you are inside, stay inside.

DO NOT run outside or to other rooms during an earthquake. You are less likely to be injured if you stay where you are.

To reduce your chances of being hurt, take the following actions:

If possible, within the few seconds before shaking intensifies, quickly move away from glass, hanging objects, bookcases, china cabinets, or other large furniture that could fall. Watch for falling objects, such as bricks from fireplaces and chimneys, light fixtures, wall hangings, high shelves, and cabinets with doors that could swing open.

If available nearby, grab something to shield your head and face from falling debris and broken glass.

If you are in the kitchen, quickly turn off the stove and take cover at the first sign of shaking.

If you are in bed, hold on and stay there, protecting your head with a pillow. You are less likely to be injured staying where you are. Broken glass on the floor can cause injuries if you walk or roll onto the floor.

DO NOT stand in a doorway. You are safer under a table. In modern houses, doorways are no stronger than any other part of the house. Doorways do not protect you from the most likely source of injury − falling or flying objects. Most earthquake-related injuries and deaths are caused by falling or flying objects (such as TVs, lamps, glass, or bookcases), or by being knocked to the ground.

If you are in a high-rise building, drop, cover, and hold on.

Move away from windows and outside walls.

Stay in the building.

DO NOT use the elevators. The electricity may go out, and the sprinkler systems may come on.

If you are trapped, stay calm. Try to get someone's attention by tapping on hard or metal parts of the structure. Doing so may increase your chances of being rescued.

If you are inside a crowded place, drop, cover, and hold on.

Do not rush for the doorways. Others will have the same idea.

Move away from display shelves containing objects that may fall.

If you can, take cover and grab something to shield your head and face from falling debris and glass.

If you are outside, stay outside.

Move away from buildings, utility wires, sinkholes, and fuel and gas lines. The greatest danger from falling debris is just outside doorways and close to outer walls of buildings.

Go to an open area away from trees, telephone poles, and buildings. Once in the open, get down low and stay there until the shaking stops.

The area near the outside walls of a building is the most dangerous place to be. Windows, facades, and architectural details are often the first parts of the building to collapse. Stay away from this danger zone.

If you are in a moving vehicle, stop as quickly and safely as possible.

Move your car to the shoulder or curb, away from utility poles, overhead wires, and under- or overpasses.

Stay in the car and set the parking brake. A car may jiggle violently on its springs, but it is a good place to stay until the shaking stops.

Turn on the radio for emergency broadcast information.

If a power line falls on the car, stay inside until a trained person removes the wire.

When it is safe to begin driving again, watch for hazards created by the earthquake, such as breaks in the pavement, downed utility poles and wires, rising water levels, fallen overpasses, or collapsed bridges.

If you are in a stadium or theater, stay in your seat. Protect your head and neck with your arms or any way possible.

Do not leave until the shaking is over.

Walk out carefully watching for anything that could fall during the aftershocks.

If you are near the shore, drop, cover, and hold on until the shaking stops.

If severe shaking lasts 20 seconds or more, immediately evacuate to high ground as a tsunami might have been generated by the earthquake.

Move inland 2 miles (3 kilometers) or to land that is at least 100 feet (30 meters) above sea level immediately. Don't wait for officials to issue a warning.

Walk quickly, rather than drive, to avoid traffic, debris, and other hazards.

If you cannot drop to the ground, try to sit or remain seated so you are not knocked down.

If you are in a wheelchair, lock your wheels. Remove any items that are not securely attached to the wheelchair.

Protect your head and neck with a large book, a pillow, or your arms. The goal is to prevent injuries from falling down or from objects that might fall or be thrown at you.

If you are able, seek shelter under a sturdy table or desk. Stay away from outer walls, windows, fireplaces, and hanging objects.

If you are unable to move from a bed or chair, protect yourself from falling objects by covering up with blankets and pillows.

If you are outside, go to an open area away from trees, telephone poles, and buildings, and stay there.

For more resources for people with impaired mobility and other access and functional needs, visit the Earthquake Country Allianceexternal icon .

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reduce your chance of injury from falling objects

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Information how to stay safe during an earthquake. Provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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They can speed across the ocean as fast as a jet plane, swallow up islands and wipe out villages.

But what causes tsuamis...? Join National Geographic Kids and dive into our tsunami facts to find out!

What causes a tsunami?

Meaning " great harbour wave" in Japanese, tsunamis are sometimes called "tidal waves" but their strength has nothing to do with the tides. About four out of five tsunamis happen within the Ring Of Fire, a zone in the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions frequently take place.

Giant slabs of the Earth's crust, called tectonic plates, grind together. Sometimes, though, the plates get stuck, the pressure builds up and they suddenly slam into a new position. This causes an earthquake. If an earthquake lifts or drops part of the ocean floor, the water above rises and starts spreading across the ocean, causing a tsunami. Underwater landslides or volcanic eruptions can also displace water (cause water to spread across the ocean) and may lead to a tsunami.

How big is a tsunami?

Out in the open ocean, tsunami waves are only about one-metre high because the water is deep. However, as the water becomes shallow, the waves slow down and begin to grow. They can rise 35m or higher - that's the same as a 10-floor block of flats! However, the scariest thing about a tsunami is its wavelength, as this determines how far inland it can travel. Whereas a large wave caused by a storm might have a wavelength of up to 150m, a tsunami could reach up to a fearsome 1,000km!

How fast is a tsunami?

A normal wind wave travels at about 90kmh, but a tsunami can race across the ocean at an incredible 970kmh! Sometimes, before a tsunami hits, there is a huge vacuum effect, sucking water from harbours and beaches. People can see the ocean floor littered with flopping fish and other sea animals. Then a wave blasts onto the shore minutes later, then another and another for two hours or more. There may also be up to one hour between each wave.

Can you predict when a tsunami is coming?

To save lives, scientists established the Pacific Tsunami Warning System, based in Hawaii, in the USA. Its network of detectors can track quakes that may cause a tsunami. These waves can race from one side of the Pacific Ocean to the other in less than a day, so people need to be warned in time to head for higher ground!

What do you think of these tsunami facts? Let us know by leaving a comment, below!

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Tsunami facts: check out the mighty wave! - National Geographic Kids

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They can speed across the ocean as fast as a jet plane, swallow up islands and wipe out villages. But what causes tsuamis...? Join National Geographic Kids and dive into our tsunami facts to find out! Meaning " great harbour wave" in Japanese, tsunamis are sometimes called "tidal waves" but their strength has nothing to do with the tides.

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What is a tsunami?
A tsunami is a large ocean wave usually caused by an underwater earthquake or a volcanic explosion. Tsunamis are NOT tidal waves. Tidal waves are caused by the forces of the moon, sun, and planets upon the tides, as well as the wind as it moves over the water. With typical waves, water flows in circles, but with a tsunami, water flows straight. This is why tsunamis cause so much damage!

How are tsunamis generated?
Tsunamis are generated by any large, impulsive displacement of the sea level. The most common cause of a tsunami is sea floor uplift associated with an earthquake. Tsunamis are also triggered by landslides into or under the water surface, and can be generated by volcanic activity and meteorite impacts.

How often do tsunamis occur?
On the average, two tsunamis occur per year throughout the world which inflict damage near the source. Approximately every 15 years a destructive, ocean-wide tsunami occurs.

Can strike-slip (horizontal motion) earthquakes trigger tsunamis?
Yes, approximately 10-15% of damaging tsunamis are triggered by strike-slip earthquakes. This type of earthquake is less likely to trigger a tsunami than one with vertical motion. The waves are likely generated by associated landslides or motion of a sloping bathymetric feature. Tsunamis generated by strike-slip earthquakes normally affect regions near the source only.

What does the word "tsunami" mean?
Tsunami (soo-NAH-mee) is a Japanese word meaning harbor wave.

How fast do tsunamis travel?
Tsunami velocity depends on the depth of water through which it travels. Velocity equals the square root of the product of the water depth times the acceleration of gravity. Tsunamis travel approximately 475 mph in 15,000 feet of water. In 100 feet of water the velocity drops to about 40 mph.

Did you know...A tsunami travels from the central Aleutian Islands to Hawaii in about 5 hours and to California in about 6 hours, or from the Portugal coast to North Carolina in about 8.5 hours.

How big is a tsunami?
Tsunamis range in size from inches to over a hundred feet. In deep water (greater than 600 feet), tsunamis are rarely over 3 feet and are not normally noticed by ships due to their long period or time between crests. As tsunamis propagate into shallow water, the wave height can increase by over 10 times. Tsunami heights vary greatly along a coast. The waves can be amplified by shoreline and sea floor features. A large tsunami can flood low-lying coastal land over a mile from the coast.

What does a tsunami look like when it reaches shore?
Normally, a tsunami appears as a rapidly advancing or receding tide. In some cases, a wall of water or series of breaking waves may form.

How is a tsunami different from a wind-generated wave?
Wind-generated waves usually have periods or time between crests between 5 and 15 seconds. Tsunami periods normally range from 5 to 60 minutes. Also, wind-generated waves break as they shoal and lose energy offshore. Tsunamis act more like a flooding wave. A twenty foot tsunami is a twenty foot rise in sea level.

What are nature's signs that a tsunami may be imminent?
There are a few signs like hard ground shaking for 20+ seconds near the coast or a sudden sea level withdrawal. Tsunamis may be accompanied by loud, booming noises.

Can earthquakes and tsunamis be predicted?
No, earthquakes cannot be predicted. Once an earthquake has occurred, the arrival time of a tsunami, if generated, can be determined accurately. There is not normally enough time to accurately predict tsunami heights near the source. Away from the source, tsunami wave heights can be estimated based on mathematical tsunami models and observed wave heights.

Aerial video of the tsunami that devastated Japan on March 11, 2011.

Click Here to see an animation of an earthquake and the resulting tsunami. It's great for kids, because they get to see how it actually happens!
What are some of the most damaging tsunamis?

Japan: Major tsunami in 2011 generated in the Pacific Ocean.

Asia: Asian tsunami in 2004 generated in the Indian Ocean.

Alaska: Major tsunamis were generated along the Alaskan coast in 1946, 1957, 1958, 1964, and 1965. Many other locally generated tsunamis occurred prior to those dates.

US/Canada West Coast: Tsunamis were generated locally in 1812, 1873, 1878, 1927, 1930, 1946 and 1949. The west coast was also impacted by tsunamis generated in other regions in 1877, 1946, 1952, 1957, 1960, 1964, 1975, 2006, and 2010.

US/Canada Atlantic Coast: Tsunamis were recorded in 1755, 1884, 1886, and 1929.

Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands experienced damaging tsunamis in 1867 and 1918.

Click Here for the NOAA/National Geophysical Data Center tsunami catalog.

TSUNAMI WARNING- A tsunami warning indicates that a tsunami may be imminent and that coastal locations in the warned area should prepare for flooding. The initial warning is typically based solely on seismic information. After the tsunami is recorded on sea level gages, the warning will be cancelled, restricted, expanded, or downgraded to an advisory. Warnings indicate that flooding up to the maximum expected limit is possible and residents should follow their local emergency management instructions. Warnings are issued when the earthquake information or tsunami forecasts indicate that a wave over 1 meter in amplitude is expected, possible, or ongoing.

TSUNAMI ADVISORY- A tsunami advisory indicates a tsunami which may produce strong currents and is dangerous to those in or very near the water is expected. Large inundations are not expected in areas under advisory status. Advisories will be cancelled, extended, or upgraded to a warning depending on the event severity. Advisories are issued when the tsunami forecast is in the range of 0.3 to 1 meter, or an observed tsunami is in the range of 0.5 to 1.0 meters.

TSUNAMI WATCH- A tsunami watch is an early alert issued to areas which may later be impacted by a tsunami. Tsunami impact is normally at least three hours away for regions within a tsunami watch. The watch will either be upgraded to a warning or advisory in subsequent messages or cancelled depending on the severity of the tsunami. People within a watch area should stay alert for further information regarding tsunami threat.

CREST - The top of a wave.

FJORD - A narrow sea inlet between cliffs or steep slopes.

SURGE - A large wave or billow.

TROUGH - The lowest point between waves.

Click Here to get the latest tsunami warning information from the NWS.

PLAN FOR A TSUNAMI: Have a disaster plan. Know whether you're at risk for danger. Plan an evacuation route. Prepare a disaster supplies kit for your home and car. Include a first aid kit, canned food and a can opener, bottled water, battery-operated radio, flashlight, protective clothing and written instructions on how to turn off electricity, gas, and water.

DURING A TSUNAMI: Follow the instructions issued by local authorities. You will probably want to evacuate immediately. Get to higher ground and as far inland as you can.

AFTER A TSUNAMI: Help injured or trapped people. Stay out of a building if water remains around it. Tsunami waters can cause buildings to sink, floors to crack, or walls to collapse. When re-entering homes, use extreme caution. Check for gas leaks. Open windows and doors to help dry things out. Look for fire hazards.

Lesson Plan: Here is a great lesson plan on learning about tsunamis. Note: This is a PDF file, so you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Lesson Plan: Here is a great lesson plan on tracking a tsunami.

Lesson Plan: Here is a great lesson plan on tsunamis and how they devastating effects they may cause in the world.

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What is a tsunami? A tsunami is a large ocean wave usually caused by an underwater earthquake or a volcanic explosion. Tsunamis are NOT tidal waves. Tidal waves are caused by the forces of the moon, sun, and planets upon the tides, as well as the wind as it moves over the water.

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Tsunami is a Japanese word that means "harbor wave." It is a large wave caused by movements in Earth's outer layer, or crust, which move ocean water. For example, an earthquake or a volcano in the ocean could cause a tsunami.

Earth's crust is made up of pieces called tectonic plates. An earthquake happens when these plates push against each other so hard that one of them slips or breaks. Imagine leaning against a friend. If you push against each other harder and harder, one or both of you will fall over. When Earth's plates push against each other, they can move a lot.

If an earthquake happens in the ocean, a large piece of Earth's crust can be thrust upward or slip from side to side. The movement of a large chunk of Earth displaces the water above it, meaning it takes up the space where the water used to be. So where does the water go? It ripples out from the earthquake in waves.

This can also happen if a volcano erupts in the ocean. The lava flowing out of the volcano displaces the water around it. That water can turn into a large wave.

If the earthquake or volcano is very big, then the wave can be very big, too. Big tsunamis usually begin in the deep ocean, where a large volume of water can be displaced. As the wave moves closer to the shore, it grows taller as the ocean becomes shallower. If the water recedes-or moves away from the coast-after an earthquake, a big tsunami may be on its way.

Tsunamis can be hundreds of feet tall, and they travel very fast. This means they can be dangerous even for people who aren't on the beach. Tsunamis can be extremely destructive and can knock down whole buildings.

But not all earthquakes or volcanic eruptions cause tsunamis. Whether a tsunami forms can depend on a lot of things. The shape of the ocean floor can determine if a tsunami happens. So can the distance and direction of the earthquake.

If there's a chance a tsunami is on its way, you don't want to be near the coast. So how can we tell if a tsunami is coming? We use satellites!

MISR (the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer) is a NASA tool that watches for tsunamis from space. It has nine cameras, all pointed in slightly different directions. As the satellite passes overhead, it takes nine pictures of the same spot from different angles.

MISR can see sunlight reflecting off ripples and waves. Satellites that look straight down cannot see these ripples.

These images help scientists understand how tsunamis work. The more we learn about tsunamis, the better we can predict where, when and how strong a tsunami will be. That way, people can have enough warning to get away and stay safe.

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A tsunami is a large wave caused by movements in Earth''s outer layer, or crust. Learn more about these big waves and how NASA monitors them.

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Natural disasters, both on land and under the ocean, may cause deadly ocean waves called tsunamis. By the time a tsunami reaches shore, it has gained tremendous size and…

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Get American Red Cross preparedness tips that can help you survive a tsunami. We will help you understand warnings and how to prepare, respond and recover from them.

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A storm is a disturbance in the atmosphere, or air. Thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes are powerful and sometimes dangerous types of storms. People also use the word...

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A storm is a powerful disturbance of the atmosphere . Thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes are types of storms. Storms are a common event here on Earth. They occur on other planets, too.

There are about 16 million thunderstorms worldwide each year. That is according to the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL). At any moment, about 2,000 thunderstorms are taking place.

A thunderstorm is caused by an updraft. As water vapor rises, it cools. Then it to form clouds. Cumulus clouds are typically associated with blue skies and fair weather. But as updrafts continue sending vapor into the skies, cumulus clouds become cumulonimbus clouds. These are thunderstorm clouds.

When the cooled water particles within a cloud grow heavy enough, they fall from the sky. This is called precipitation. Types of precipitation include rain, snow, sleet, and hail. Air temperature and other conditions determine whether water droplets or ice pellets will fall. Precipitation brings cool air down with it. When this cool air meets an upward current of warm, moist air, a storm begins to form.

Thunder and Lightning

Thunder and lightning happen at the same time. Lightning is a quick, powerful burst of electricity. The burst can be up to five miles long. Lightning is born inside a storm cloud. It can stay inside a cloud. Or it can flash horizontally to nearby clouds. It can also shoot from a cloud toward the ground below.

Lightning is extremely fast. It is also very hot. An average bolt of lightning travels more than 220,000 miles per hour. It can be 53,000°F. That is more than five times the heat of the sun.

Thunder is the sound caused by a bolt of lightning. When lightning strikes, the intensity of the flash causes the air around it to rapidly expand. The sound of this expanding air is thunder. Light travels faster than sound. So lightning is often seen before thunder is heard. After an initial crack or boom, thunder may seem to "roll" for a few seconds. This sound is actually the full length of lightning's . The blast of air closest to the Earth's surface is heard first. It is followed by the shock wave's more-distant rumbles.

Tornado Watch

Severe weather can cause massive damage and lead to injuries and even deaths. Tornadoes are nature's most powerful storms. According to the NSSL, the U.S. has more tornadoes than anywhere else on Earth. About 1,200 tornadoes are spotted in the U.S. each year.

A tornado is a swirling of wind. It extends from a cumulonimbus cloud to the ground. The strong, spiraling winds of a tornado can last anywhere from seconds to 10 minutes. The powerful storm can reach more than 300 miles per hour. Even at slower speeds, tornadoes are intense. They can topple houses and send cars flying into the air. Tornadoes can also uproot trees.

Scientists are still unsure exactly how tornadoes form. What they do know is that a tornado is born from a supercell. Supercells are severe storm systems where winds spin in a strong circular motion called a mesocyclone. Some climatologists believe that a mesocyclone creates tornadoes based on the temperature difference between the ground and the air around the storm cell.

Hurricane Warning

Typhoons and hurricanes are both types of cyclones. The powerful storms range from 100 to 300 miles wide. Depending on their strength, they can last anywhere from a day to a month. They form in low-pressure areas over warm waters. Typhoons form in the eastern hemisphere, over the northwestern Pacific Ocean. Hurricanes get their start in the western hemisphere, in the Atlantic Ocean. They can also form over the northeastern or southern Pacific Ocean. Storms that form in the Indian Ocean are called monsoons.

Cyclones form when tropical winds gather moisture as they pass over water that is at least 80°F. Warm, moist air rising over these waters creates powerful winds. As these winds spin faster, they generate energy and draw in more moisture. When a storm's winds reach 39 miles per hour, it becomes a tropical storm. At 74 miles per hour, the storm becomes a cyclone. There are five categories of cyclone. A category 1 storm has winds between 74 and 95 miles per hour. A category 5 hurricane has wind speeds of 157 miles per hour or higher.

No storm is completely predictable. But meteorologists use tools to forecast weather patterns. This allows them to warn people before a storm strikes.

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A storm is a powerful disturbance of the atmosphere . Thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes are types of storms. Storms are a common event here on Earth. They occur on other planets, too. There are about 16 million thunderstorms worldwide each year. That is according to the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL).

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Thunderstorms

What is a thunderstorm?
A thunderstorm is a storm with lightning and thunder. Its produced by a cumulonimbus cloud, usually producing gusty winds, heavy rain and sometimes hail.

What causes a thunderstorm?
The basic ingredients used to make a thunderstorm are moisture, unstable air and lift. You need moisture to form clouds and rain. You need unstable air that is relatively warm and can rise rapidly. Finally, you need lift. This can form from fronts, sea breezes or mountains.

When are thunderstorms most likely to occur? Thunderstorms can occur year-round and at all hours. But they are most likely to happen in the spring and summer months and during the afternoon and evening hours.

It is estimated that there are around 1,800 thunderstorms that occur across our planet every day. How many thunderstorms are there every day?

Yes, despite their small size, all thunderstorms are dangerous. Every thunderstorm produces lightning, which kills more people each year than tornadoes.
Are thunderstorms dangerous?

Lightning is a bright flash of electricity produced by a thunderstorm. All thunderstorms produce lightning and are very dangerous. If you hear the sound of thunder, then you are in danger from lightning. Lightning kills and injures more people each year than hurricanes or tornadoes; between 75 to 100 people.
What is lightning?

Lightning is an electric current. Within a thundercloud way up in the sky, many small bits of ice (frozen raindrops) bump into each other as they move around in the air. All of those collisions create an electric charge. After a while, the whole cloud fills up with electrical charges. The positive charges or protons form at the top of the cloud and the negative charges or electrons form at the bottom of the cloud. Since opposites attract, that causes a positive charge to build up on the ground beneath the cloud. The grounds electrical charge concentrates around anything that sticks up, such as mountains, people, or single trees. The charge coming up from these points eventually connects with a charge reaching down from the clouds and - zap - lightning strikes!
What causes lightning?

Have you ever rubbed your feet across carpet and then touched a metal door handle? If so, then you know that you can get shocked! Lightning works in the same way.

Thunder is caused by lightning. When a lightning bolt travels from the cloud to the ground it actually opens up a little hole in the air, called a channel. Once then light is gone the air collapses back in and creates a sound wave that we hear as thunder. The reason we see lightning before we hear thunder is because light travels faster than sound!

Click Here to see where lightning is currently striking across the U.S.
If you see dark clouds, then lightning could be present, but the best thing you can do is to listen for thunder. If you hear thunder, then you need to go indoors or get in a car. Don't be outside, where lightning could strike! If your hair stands on end or your skin starts to tingle, lightning maybe about to strike. Get down on your hands and knees and keep your head tucked in. Do not lay flat, because it can give lightning a better chance of strike you.
What causes thunder?

Within those distant thunderstorms, the lightning bolts can be seen as much as 100 miles from us, depending on the height of the bolt, the clarity of the air, and our elevation. Thunder, in comparison, has a much shorter range of detection - usually less than 15 miles in a quiet rural setting and under 5 miles in a noisy city environment. How do you know if lightning is nearby?

Yes, you can use thunder to tell how far away a storm is. Next time you see a storm, count the number of seconds between when you see the lightning and hear the thunder. Take the number of seconds and divide by 5 and that will tell you how far away the storm is in miles. For example: If you counted 10 seconds between the lightning and the thunder, the lightning is 2 miles away!

How far away can you see lightning and hear thunder?
Hail is created when small water droplets are caught in the updraft of a thunderstorm. These water droplets are lifted higher and higher into the sky until they freeze into ice. Once they become heavy, they will start to fall. If the smaller hailstones get caught in the updraft again, they will get more water on them and get lifted higher in the sky and get bigger. Once they get lifted again, they freeze and fall. This happens over and over again until the hailstone is too heavy and then falls to the ground.

Can you tell how far away a storm is?

What is hail?

What is a gust front?
A gust front is the leading edge of the downdraft from a thunderstorm. It is usually marked by gusty cool winds, and sometimes blowing dust. You will feel the wind from the gust front before it starts to rain. What causes the wind to blow? Know the Lingo
As the sun warms the Earth's surface, the atmosphere warms too. Some parts of the Earth receive direct rays from the sun all year and are always warm. Other places receive indirect rays, so the climate is colder. Warm air, which weighs less than cold air, rises. Then cool air moves in and replaces the rising warm air. This movement of air is what makes the wind blow.
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH - A severe thunderstorm (damaging winds of 58 miles per hour or more, or 1" hail in diameter or greater) is likely to develop in your area.

DOWNDRAFT - A sudden descent of cool or cold air to the ground, usually with precipitation, and associated with a thunderstorm or shower. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING - A severe thunderstorm (damaging winds of 58 miles per hour or more, or hail three-fourths of an inch in diameter or greater) is taking place in your area.

UPDRAFT - A warm column of air that rises within a cloud. If the air is sufficiently moist, then the moisture condenses to become a cumulus cloud.
Know the Facts

The typical thunderstorm is 15 miles in diameter and lasts an average of 30 minutes.

Thunderstorms happen in every state and every thunderstorm has lightning.

Click Here to see if there are any active warnings in your area.

Thunderstorm Safety Tips

IF YOU'RE INDOORS: Avoid water. It's a great conductor of electricity, so do not take a shower, wash your hands, wash dishes or do laundry. Do not use a corded telephone. Lightning may strike exterior phone lines. Do not use electric equipment like computers and appliances during a storm. Stay away from windows and doors and stay off porches.

IF SOMEONE IS STRUCK BY LIGHTNING: Call for help. Call 9-1-1 or send for help immediately. The injured person does not carry an electrical charge, so it is okay to touch them.
IF YOU'RE OUTDOORS: Keep an eye at the sky. Look for darkening skies, flashes of lightning, or increasing winds. Lightning often proceeds rain, so don't wait for the rain to begin. If you hear the sound of thunder, go to a safe place immediately. The best place to go is a sturdy building or a car, but make sure the windows in the car are shut. Avoid sheds, picnic areas, baseball dugouts and bleachers. If there is no shelter around you, stay away from trees. Crouch down in the open area, keeping twice as far away from a tree as far as it is tall. Put your feet together and place your hands over your ears to minimize hearing damage from thunder. If you're with a group of people stay about 15 feet from each other. Stay out of water, because it's a great conductor of electricity. Swimming, wading, snorkeling and scuba diving are not safe. Also, don't stand in puddles and avoid metal. Stay away from clotheslines, fences, and drop your backpacks because they often have metal on them. If you're playing an outdoor activity, wait at least 30 minutes after the last observed lightning strike or thunder.

Thunderstorm Activities

Lightning Experiment: Here is a great experiment that allows kids to make lightning in their mouth. It's a great way for them to understand how lightning works.

Static Electricity Experiment: Here is an experiment that allows the kids to learn about static electricity. This teaches kids about the positive and negative charges and where they come from.

Static Electricity Experiment: Here is yet another static electricity experiment. This teaches kids about the positive and negative charges and where they come from.Static Electricity Experiment: Here is another static electricity experiment. This teaches kids about the positive and negative charges and where they come from.

Thunder Experiment: This experiment allows kids to make thunder, in a way that allows them to understand how it is made by lightning.
Pressure Experiment: Here is an experiment that shows how pressure is created in our atmosphere by sucking an egg in a bottle. This is a very cool experiment!
Science Fair Project Ideas: Here is a complete list of science fair project ideas. Discover the science behind the weather that impacts us every day.

Make A Barometer Experiment: Here is an experiment that allows the kids to make a barometer.

Evaporation Experiment: Here is an experiment that shows kids how evaporation takes place.

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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.

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Experiencing a spring thunderstorm can be a fantastic experience for a child. He can learn about storms while overcoming the natural fear of thunder and lightning.

Does your cat or dog run to hide during a thunderstorm? Many dogs do fear the sound of thunder and flashes of lightning. Many children and even some adults are also fearful of storms. If you know anyone afraid or nervous during storms, you can help the person get over that fear by observing a thunderstorm with him and teaching him how spring storms are formed, what causes thunder booms, and how lightning works.

Watching Clouds Form

On a spring afternoon, watch for thunder clouds beginning to form across the sky. Large white clouds rising high and seeming to pile higher and higher into the air are cumulonimbus clouds' beginnings. This cloud is the result of warm air growing rapidly as it heats up during the day. The moisture in the air forms a vast bank of clouds.

Observe, and you will see that the cloud is always building and changing. No shadow stays the same shape for more than a few seconds. Observing from the ground, you can watch a cloud change in only a few minutes. The first stage of the thunderstorm formation is Cumulus congestus clouds beginning to form and build.

Cumulonimbus Clouds

Cumulonimbus Calvus are the clouds with huge white lit-up tops - billowing and fluffy. As the clouds keep building upward, a Pileus cloud develops at the peak of the Cumulus Calvus. Think of the Calvus as the calf or child of the cumulonimbus cloud.

This Pileus cloud is like a smooth arch sitting above the clouds. It is flat at its base, and since the cumulus clouds are moving so fast, they catch up and merge with the Pileus cloud. This shows weather forecasters that there is most assuredly going to be a big thunderstorm with plenty of wind, rain, thunder, and lightning.

Lightning and Thunder

Lightning is formed when the positive and negative charges in the cloud build-up and discharge toward each other. Ice crystals, which are positively charged, rise inside the cloud. Water droplets in clouds are negatively charged, and they tend to sink inside. Opposites attract, and the charges send a streak of electricity through the clouds and toward the ground. The temperature can exceed 22,000 º F. The air around the lightning bolt superheats, expands, and then quickly contracts. This makes the thunder boom.

Count the seconds between a lightning flash and the sound of the rumble to see how far away the storm is. Light travels faster than sound, so it takes 5 seconds for the sound to travel 1 mile. Count the seconds, divide by 5, and tell you how many miles away the storm is.

Safety and Storms

You would not want to observe a storm like this standing outside with a kite and a piece of metal like Benjamin Franklin did in France in 1752. A lightning bolt could have killed Franklin. Watch a storm from a safe place inside a building - never under a tree. A thunderstorm usually drops a massive load of rain, sometimes hail, and can come with strong winds, even tornadoes. Watching the clouds build is your clue to get to a safe place and prepare to watch the storm. Try taking some pictures of the clouds and from indoors of the lightning strikes.

Using Storm Data

Please write down your observations of the storm, including the time it takes from start to finish. Writing about a storm you have watched can lead to a great science report for school and exciting information to share. Use the lightning data and photos for a science fair project or storm safety poster, or write about the storm for your school newspaper. Try writing a story or poem about a thunderstorm. Storms are fantastic to watch and exciting to study.

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Experiencing a spring thunderstorm can be a fantastic experience for a child. He can learn about storms while overcoming the natural fear of thunder and lightning. Does your cat or dog run to hide during a thunderstorm? Many dogs do fear the sound of thunder and flashes of lightning.

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30.7 inches fell upon Philly 25 years ago, and snow hasn’t been the same since

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In all, 20-plus inches of snow fell in areas where 39.8 million people lived. That was unprecedented. More mega-snows would follow.

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Take a bottle of soda. Shake it really hard. Gas bubbles will form inside, causing a buildup of pressure. Twist the cap off. Pressure will release from the bottle. Soda will shoot everywhere.

A volcanic eruption works much the same way. Pressure builds up inside a volcano as gas bubbles form in magma. Magma is hot liquid rock beneath the surface of the Earth. Gas bubbles in the volcano need to escape. So the volcano erupts. Boom!

A volcano is a mountain or hill with an opening. When a volcano erupts, magma is pushed up through the opening with great force. When magma reaches the Earth's surface, it is called lava. Lava can be as hot as 2,200°F (1,204°C).

Some volcanic eruptions are explosive. Lava shoots into the sky. Gas and hot pieces of rock and ash are also released. Other eruptions are effusive × effusive LEOPATRIZI/GETTY IMAGES overflowing (adjective) My effusive friend is enthusiastic about everything she does. . Lava oozes slowly from the volcano.

The intensity of an eruption depends on a few factors. One is the magma's temperature. Another is the magma's thickness. The amount of gas trapped within the magma is also an important factor.

GETTY IMAGES

The Ring of Fire

About 75% of the Earth's volcanoes are located in a region called the Ring of Fire. This 25,000-mile "ring' is located around the Pacific Ocean. It runs from the southern tip of South America and up the west coast of North America. It continues across the Bering Strait and then south through Japan to New Zealand.

The ring sits along the outline of several tectonic plates. Tectonic plates are the large puzzle pieces that make up the Earth's crust. The crust is Earth's outer layer. Most volcanoes form at the edges of tectonic plates. These huge plates are constantly shifting. Sometimes, the plates pull apart or slide into each other. When this happens, magma rises to fill in the space. Strong pressure and intense heat force the magma upward. It squeezes upward like toothpaste through a tube.

Heating Up

Volcanoes can be dangerous-especially to the millions of people around the world who live near one. When a volcano erupts, lava, hot ash, steam, and rocks are released. In addition, volcanic eruptions can cause other natural disasters. These include landslides, mudslides, earthquakes, and tsunamis.

The most destructive volcanic event in U.S. history occurred in 1980. That is when Mount Saint Helens, in Washington State, erupted. The eruption destroyed entire forests. It killed 57 people. Mount Saint Helens is located within the Ring of Fire. It is a composite volcano, or stratovolcano. This is the most common type of volcano. It is tall and cone-shaped. A composite volcano is made up of layers of rock and ash. Its eruptions are often violent.

Another historically important volcanic event occurred in 79 A.D. in Italy. That is when Mount Vesuvius erupted. It buried the city of Pompeii in lava and ash. The city and its people were lost. Centuries later, scientists discovered their remains.

Volcanoes can be destructive. But they can also create new land. The Hawaiian Islands were created by the eruptions of shield volcanoes. These large, low-lying volcanoes are made up almost entirely of layers of hardened lava.

Another type of volcano is the cinder cone. These shoot lava into the air like a sputtering fountain. A cinder cone eruption often comes from a single volcanic vent in the Earth's crust. Lava cools quickly in the air. It hardens into glassy rocks around the volcano's opening. One example of a cinder cone volcano is Sunset Crater, in Arizona.

ARCTIC-IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES

A Powerful Force

Volcanoes have played an important role in shaping our Earth. Ash from volcanoes adds helpful minerals to soil. This helps plants grow strong. Healthy plants produce oxygen for humans and animals to breathe. Volcanoes also remove heat from the Earth's interior. This helps keep our planet cool.

In recent years, a new benefit of volcanoes has surfaced. Scientists are turning to volcanoes to help power cities. Researchers are exploring geothermal energy. It involves tapping into the heat beneath the Earth's surface to generate electricity. In Iceland, 25% of the nation's energy is geothermal.

Volcanoes may be unpredictable. But as we learn more about how they work, they will become even more important to life on Earth.

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Take a bottle of soda. Shake it really hard. Gas bubbles will form inside, causing a buildup of pressure. Twist the cap off. Pressure will release from the bottle. Soda will shoot everywhere. A volcanic eruption works much the same...

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How Volcanoes Form

In 1980 in Washington, after 123 years of hibernation, Mount St. Helens erupted. The blast destroyed and scorched 230 square miles (370 square kilometers) of forest within minutes. The eruption released an avalanche of hot ash, gas, steam, and rocks that mowed down giant trees up to 15 miles (24 kilometers) away.

When magma finds a way to escape from beneath the earth's surface, it creates a volcano.

Volcanoes erupt in different ways. Some, like Mount St. Helens, explode. Explosive eruptions are so powerful, they can shoot particles 20 miles up (32 kilometers), hurl 8-ton boulders more than a half mile (0.8 kilometers) away, and cause massive landslides. Explosive eruptions also create an avalanche of hot volcanic debris, ash, and gas that bulldozes everything in its path. Explosive volcanoes cause most of the volcano-related fatalities.

Volcanoes, like Mauna Loa in Hawaii, are effusive. Rather than a violent explosion, lava pours or flows out. Fatalities from effusive volcanoes are rare because people can usually outrun the lava. However, some people get too close or become trapped with no escape. The flowing lava burns, melts, and destroys everything it touches including farms, houses, and roads.

A volcanic eruption forever changes the landscape. Though volcanoes destroy, they also create mountains, islands, and, eventually, incredibly fertile land.

Carpet of Ash

Volcanic eruptions can cause damage hundreds of miles away. Volcanic ash causes airplane engines to fail, destroys crops, contaminates water, and damages electronics and machinery. The ash carpets the ground, burying everything, sometimes even causing buildings to collapse. Mount St. Helens produced more than 490 tons of ash that fell over a 22,000 square mile (56,980 square kilometer) area and caused problems in cities 370 miles (600 kilometers) away.

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When magma finds a way to escape from beneath the earth's surface, it creates a volcano.

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A volcano is an opening in Earth's crust. When a volcano erupts, hot gases and melted rock from deep within Earth find their way up to the surface. This material may flow...

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Volcano facts | National Geographic Kids

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Check out these fascinating volcano facts with National Geographic Kids! What is a volcano? Why does it erupt? And where can you find the world's biggest?

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Volcano eruptions can be huge and cause lots of problems - and the worst can even kill thousands of people.

But volcanic eruptions can also be a good thing - volcanoes add nutrients to soils, creating perfect conditions for many crops to grow in.

There have been some huge volcano eruptions - here are the five deadliest...

5 - Mount Vesuvius

In Italy in AD 79, this volcano devastated the nearby cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Thousands of people are thought to have died and the remains of many people were preserved by the ash.

Since then, it has erupted several times, most recently in 1944.

4 - Mount Ruiz

Mount Ruiz in Columbia, South America, had two destructive eruptions in 1985.

A mixture of mud, ash, and water raced down the volcano's slope through river channels.

The mud almost totally buried a town 30 miles from the volcano, killing around 25,000 people.

3 - Mount Pelée

The worst volcanic disaster of the 20th century is considered to be the eruption of Mount Pelée in 1902.

It was on the island of Martinique in the Caribbean and it killed around 30,000 people.

2 - Mount Krakatoa

Another of Indonesia's volcanoes, its eruption in 1883, killed over 35,000 people mainly due to resulting tsunamis.

There were a series of extremely violent explosions over a few months and the biggest could be heard more than 2,000 miles away in Australia.

1 - Mount Tambora

This is one of Indonesia's 100-plus active volcanoes. Its eruptions in 1815 rocked the world with after-effects.

It caused disease and harmed the growth of crops in the surrounding regions, and caused climate changes as far away as North America.

It killed over 90,000 people.

But the worst could still be to come...

In the state of Wyoming in America there's what's known as a 'supervolcano' in Yellowstone National park.

It's last thought to have erupted about 600,000 to 700,000 years ago and some scientists think there may be another eruption there to come.

If it were to ever erupt again it could claim up to a billion lives and devastate continents.

But don't worry, it may never happen at all.

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The top five biggest volcanic eruptions - CBBC Newsround

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Volcano eruptions can be huge and cause lots of problems - and the worst can even kill thousands of people. But volcanic eruptions can also be a good thing - volcanoes add nutrients to soils, creating perfect conditions for many crops to grow in.

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You can do many things to protect yourself and your family from the dangers a volcanic eruption can cause. The best way to protect yourself and your family is to follow the advice of local officials. Local authorities will give you information on how to prepare for a volcanic eruption, and if necessary, on how to evacuate (leave the area) or take shelter where you are.

How to prepare

Be prepared either to shelter or to evacuate. Develop an evacuation plan and a sheltering plan for yourself, your family, and others in your household. Review the plans and make sure that everyone understands them. If you haven't already done so, put together an emergency supply kitexternal icon . Supplies should include the following:

Flashlight and extra batteries

First aid kit and manual

Emergency food and water

Manual (nonelectric) can opener

Essential medicines

Sturdy shoes

Respiratory (breathing) protection

Eye protection (goggles)

Battery-powered radio

Exposure to ash can harm your health, particularly the respiratory (breathing) tract. To protect yourself while you are outdoors or while you are cleaning up ash that has gotten indoors, use an N-95 disposable respirator (also known as an "air purifying respirator"). N-95 respirators can be purchased at businesses such as hardware stores. It is important to follow directions for proper use of this respirator. For more information, see NIOSH-Approved Disposable Particulate Respirators (Filtering Facepieces) . If you don't have an N-95 respirator, you can protect yourself by using a nuisance dust mask as a last resort, but you should stay outdoors for only short periods while dust is falling. Nuisance dust masks can provide comfort and relief from exposure to relatively non-hazardous contaminants such as pollen, but they do not offer as much protection as an N-95 respirator. Cleanup or emergency workers may need a different type of breathing protection.

If you are told to evacuate

Follow authorities' instructions if they tell you to leave the area. Though it may seem safe to stay at home and wait out an eruption, doing so could be very dangerous. Volcanoes spew hot, dangerous gases, ash, lava, and rock that are powerfully destructive.

Preparing to evacuate

Tune in the radio or television for volcano updates.

Listen for disaster sirens and warning signals.

Review your emergency plan and gather your emergency supplies. Be sure to pack at least a 1-week supply of prescription medications.

Prepare an emergency kit for your vehicle with food, flares, booster cables, maps, tools, a first aid kit, a fire extinguisher, sleeping bags, a flashlight, batteries, etc.

Fill your vehicle's gas tank.

If no vehicle is available, make arrangements with friends or family for transportation, or follow authorities' instructions on where to obtain transportation.

Place vehicles under cover, if at all possible.

Put livestock in an enclosed area. Plan ahead to take pets with you, but be aware that many emergency shelters cannot accept animals.

Fill your clean water containers.

Fill sinks and bathtubs with water as an extra supply for washing.

Adjust the thermostat on refrigerators and freezers to the coolest possible temperature. If the power goes out, food will stay cooler longer.

As you evacuate

Take only essential items with you, including at least a 1-week supply of prescription medications.

If you have time, turn off the gas, electricity, and water.

Disconnect appliances to reduce the likelihood of electrical shock when power is restored.

Make sure your automobile's emergency kit is ready.

Follow designated evacuation routes-others may be blocked-and expect heavy traffic and delays.

If you are told to take shelter where you are

Keep listening to your radio or television until you are told all is safe or you are told to evacuate. Local authorities may evacuate specific areas at greatest risk in your community.

Close and lock all windows and outside doors.

Turn off all heating and air conditioning systems and fans.

Close the fireplace damper.

Organize your emergency supplies and make sure household members know where the supplies are.

Make sure the radio is working.

Go to an interior room without windows that is above ground level.

Bring your pets with you, and be sure to bring additional food and water supplies for them.

It is ideal to have a hard-wired (non-portable) telephone in the room you select. Call your emergency contact-a friend or family member who does not live near the volcano-and have the phone available if you need to report a life-threatening condition. Remember that telephone equipment may be overwhelmed or damaged during an emergency.

For more information on volcanoes and health, see the following sources:

American Red Cross

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Hawaii Emergency Management Agency

U.S. Geological Survey

Washington State Department of Health

Page last reviewed:

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centers for disease control and prevention

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Preparing for a Volcanic Eruption | Volcanoes

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How to Prepare for a Volcanic Eruption. You can do many things to protect yourself and your family from the dangers a volcanic eruption can cause. Read more on how to be prepared from from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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A blizzard is a severe snowstorm. It brings low temperatures, strong winds, and a lot of blowing snow. Blizzards start when a high pressure system touches a low pressure system.

The word blizzard is sometimes used incorrectly by news media to talk about big winter storms, even if the storm is not a blizzard.

The difference between a blizzard and a snowstorm is the strength of the wind, not the amount of snow. To be a blizzard, a snow storm must have sustained winds or frequent gusts that are greater than or equal to 56 km/h (35 mph) with blowing or drifting snow which reduces visibility to 400 m or 0.25 mi or less and must last for a prolonged period of time-typically three hours or more.

Some areas are more likely to be hit by blizzards than others, but a blizzard can occur in any place where snow falls. In North America, blizzards happen often in the northern-east states, and in the provinces of Canada. In this region, blizzards can happen more than twice each winter.

They also occur often in the mountain ranges of western North America. Because these regions have low populations, blizzards sometimes are not reported.

A very dangerous type of blizzard is a whiteout. In a whiteout, downdrafts and snowfall are so thick that people cannot tell the ground and sky apart. People caught in a whiteout lose their sense of direction very fast. This is a large danger to pilots when they are flying airplanes, because they cannot tell how close they are to the ground, and may crash.

Who cleans up after blizzards?

The community cleans up after a snowstorm/blizzard occurs. Blizzards only usually go for 3 hours so everything won't be too damaged, meaning it won't be as hard as an earthquake or tsunami to clean.

How deep the snow gets

These horrible blizzards can achieve up to 25-30 feet deep. A basketball hoop is 10 ft high, so a blizzard can get snow as deep as the height of two or three hoops.

How do blizzards occur?

Firstly you need cold enough air to cause snow to fall in the clouds and ground level water and moisture is needed to form clouds and precipitation. The moisture is called water vapour to make the clouds a source of water vapour is cold air blowing across large lakes or the sea but the cold air doesn't actually make too much snow, its a combination of cold and warm air that does it. The warm air normally meets the cold air if the wind is being pulled towards the equator when they are brought together a front is formed and precipitation is formed and the warm air can go up to the clouds and the blizzard forms from there.

How strong are a blizzard's winds?

There is sustained wind or frequent gusts of 35 miles per hour or greater.

How cold can blizzards get?

Blizzards can get down to -12 degrees or lower. This makes it fairly easy to get hypothermia in a blizzard. Mostly freezing electrics and machinery making life very hard in the Hypothermic temperatures.

A blizzard brings strong winds that can cause power outages, damage property and disrupt emergency communication. As a result, people can end up without food and water supply.

Blizzards are dangerous as they may lead to injuries and even deaths on the road due to low visibility.

You should avoid being caught outdoors in a blizzard as skin left exposed to such severe conditions could lose all sensitivity within minutes. As a result, you can suffer from hypothermia and frostbite. In extreme cases it may lead to death.

Blizzards may negatively affect the environment, killing plants and animals that other species rely on in their food chain. This forces some animals to find alternative means of getting food or die if food is scarce.

Blizzards impact accumulation of water vapor in the atmosphere, which then leads to greater precipitation throughout the year.

Famous U.S. blizzards

The Great Blizzard of 1888 was very damaging for the Northeastern United States. In that blizzard, 400 people died, 200 ships sunk, and snowdrifts were 10 or 15 feet high. In the Great Plains, states were hit by the Schoolhouse Blizzard that trapped children in schools and killed 235 people.

In 1880-1881 there was a winter that people in the Dakotas called the "Hard Winter". The author Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote her book The Long Winter about that winter's story. It talks about one blizzard after another, and how it changed Laura's family and everybody around her. The book is almost all true. Her story of two men from the town of DeSmet, South Dakota, going after some wheat stored some miles south of DeSmet in February 1881 is true, and Ingalls later married one of the men, Almanzo Wilder. If the two men had not found and brought back the wheat, the people would have starved. The snow and ice thawed in April, and the railroads could start again. The train picture above was photographed on March 29, 1881, not far from DeSmet.

34 people died during a 3-day spring blizzard on March 1920 in North Dakota. One of the people who died was Hazel Miner, a teenage girl who died of freezing to death when she got lost on her way home from her one-room-school.

The Armistice Day Blizzard in 1940 surprised many people with how fast the temperature dropped. It was 60 °F (15.6 °C) in the morning, but by noon, it was snowing. Some of the people froze to death in the snow. 154 people died in the Armistice Day Blizzard.

105 years after the Great Blizzard of 1888, a giant blizzard, named the Storm of the Century, hit the U.S in 1993. It dropped snow on 26 states and reached as far north as Canada and as far south as Mexico. In many southern U.S. areas, such as parts of Alabama, more snow fell in this storm than ever fell in an entire winter. Highways and airports closed across the U.S. The blizzard also made 15 tornadoes in Florida. When the storm was over, 270 people died and 48 were reported missing.

Other famous blizzards

Related pages

Images for kids

Blizzard into Tochal Skiing resort, Tehran and involved skiers.

Conditions approaching a blizzard whiteout in Minnesota, on March 1, 2007. Note the unclear horizon near the center.

Stereoscopic view card showing "Blasting ice with dynamite from in front of steamer on the ways, by Stanley J. Morrow" ~ A view of Yankton's riverfront after the flood of March 1881.

In Spanish: Ventisca para niños

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Nor'easters can occur in the eastern United States any time between October and April, when moisture and cold air are plentiful. A Nor'easter is named for the winds that blow in from the northeast and drive the storm up the east coast along the Gulf Stream, a band of warm water that lies off the Atlantic coast. They are known for dumping heavy amounts of rain and snow, producing hurricane-force winds, and creating high surfs that cause severe beach erosion and coastal flooding. Winter Storms

How do winter storms form?
Winter storms derive their energy from the clash of two air masses of different temperatures and moisture levels. Winter storms usually form when an air mass of cold, dry, Canadian air moves south and interacts with a warm, moist air mass moving north from the Gulf of Mexico. The point where these two air masses meet is called a front. If cold air advances and pushes away the warm air, it forms a cold front. When warm air advances, it rides up over the denser, cold air mass to form a warm front. If neither air mass advances, it forms a stationary front.

What are snowflakes?
Snowflakes are made of ice crystals. Each snowflake is six-sided and made of as many as 200 ice crystals. Snowflakes form in clouds where the temperature is below freezing. The ice crystals form around tiny bits of dirt that has been carried up into the atmosphere by the wind. As the snow crystals grow, they become heavier and fall toward the ground. Why is snow white?
Bright snow blinds us with its gleaming white color because it reflects beams of white light. Instead of absorbing light, snow's complex structure prevents the light from shining through its lattice formation. A beam of white sunlight entering a snow bank is so quickly scattered by a zillion ice crystals and air pockets that most of the light comes bouncing right back out of the snow bank. What little sunlight is absorbed by snow is absorbed equally over the wavelengths of visible light thus giving snow its white appearance. So while many natural objects get their blue, red, and yellow colors from absorbing light, snow is stuck with its white color because it reflects light.

What is thundersnow? How is snow formed?
Snow is commonly formed when water vapor undergoes deposition, which is when water vapor changes directly to ice without first becoming a liquid, high in the atmosphere at a temperature of less than 32°F and then falls to the ground. What is sleet?
Sleet is just rain drops that freeze into ice pellets before reaching the ground. Sleet usually bounces when hitting a surface and does not stick to objects. However, it can accumulate like snow and cause a hazard to motorists.
What is an ice storm?
An ice storm is a type of winter storm caused by freezing rain. The U.S. National Weather Service defines an ice storm as a storm which results in the accumulation of at least 0.25-inch of ice on exposed surfaces.
What is freezing rain?
Freezing rain is just rain that falls onto a surface with a temperature below freezing. This causes it to freeze to surfaces, such as trees, cars, and roads, forming a coating or glaze of ice. Even small accumulations of ice can cause a significant hazard. How do ice storms form?
Ice storms form when a layer of warm air is between two layers of cold air. Frozen precipitation melts while falling into the warm air layer, and then proceeds to refreeze in the cold layer above the ground. This creates freezing rain or a glaze of ice.

What is frost? What is a frost quake?
Frost is white ice crystals that form on a surface, like the ground or leaves of a plant. Frost is created when the air temperature drops below freezing and the water vapor in the air freezes into ice crystals.

How is lake-effect snow formed?
As the cold air flows over the warm lake water, the relatively warm water heats the air's bottom layer as lake moisture evaporates into the cold air. Since warm air is lighter or less dense than cold air, the heated air rises and begins to cool. As the air cools, the moisture that evaporated into it condenses and forms clouds and snow begins falling from the cloud if the air is humid enough. (Graphic Credit: USA TODAY.) What is a Nor'easter?

What is Wind Chill? What is an Alberta Clipper? Click Here to calculate the Wind Chill.
An Alberta clipper is an area of low pressure that generally forms over Alberta, Canada, east of the Rocky Mountains. They develop east of the Rockies because air flowing eastward over the mountains creates favorable conditions. Once an Alberta Clipper forms it usually moves very rapidly to the southeast across the USA's northern Plains and then to the east off the mid-Atlantic Coast. Clippers usually cause only light precipitation with very few producing major snowstorms. However, if conditions are favorable, some Alberta clippers can rapidly intensify off the East Coast once the storm taps the relatively warm moist air over the Atlantic Ocean. The storms that rapidly intensify sometimes spread heavy snow over New England and southeastern Canada. Generally, the main weather features associated with Alberta clippers are some light snow and a reinforcement of cold air over the USA.
What is frostbite? How do blizzards form?

A blizzard is a long-lasting snowstorm with very strong winds and intense snowfall. You need three things to have a blizzard; cold air at the surface, lots of moisture, and lift. Warm air must rise over cold air.
What is an avalanche?
An avalanche is a moving mass of snow that may contain ice, soil, rocks, and uprooted trees. The height of a mountain, the steepness of its slope, and the type of snow lying on it all help determine the likelihood of an avalanche. Avalanches begin when an unstable mass of snow breaks away from a mountainside and moves downhill. The growing river of snow picks up speed as it rushes down the mountain. Avalanches have been known to reach speeds of 245 miles an hour (394 kilometers per hour)—about four times as fast as the speediest downhill skier.
Click Here to learn more about Avalanche Saftey.
Know the Lingo
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES - Issued for accumulations of snow, freezing rain, freezing drizzle, and sleet which will cause significant inconveniences and, if caution is not exercised, could lead to life-threatening situations.

Thundersnow is when thunder and lighting occur during a snowstorm. This occurs most often in late winter or early spring. To get thundersnow, you need a mass of cold air on top of warm air, plus moist air closer to the ground. Thundersnow starts out like a summer thunderstorm. The sun heats the ground and pushes masses of warm, moist air upward, creating unstable air columns. As it rises, the moisture condenses to form clouds, which are jostled by internal turbulence. The "tricky part" for making thundersnow is creating that atmospheric instability in the wintertime. For thundersnow to occur, the air layer closer to the ground has to be warmer than the layers above, but still cold enough to create snow. During thundersnow events, heavy snowfall is to be expected. In some cases, two inches per hour is possible.

Click Here to see if there are any active warnings in your area.

Winter Storm Safety Tips
BEFORE A WINTER STORM: Have a disaster plan and prepare a disaster supplies kit for your home and car. Include a first aid kit, emergency food supply, bottled water, battery-operated radio, flashlight, protective clothing, and blankets. Don't forget, be aware of changing weather. DURING A WINTER STORM: Stay indoors and dress warmly. Eat regularly, because food provides the body with energy for producing its own heat. Also, drink lots of water. If you must go outside, wear layered clothing, mittens and a hat. Watch for signs of hypothermia and frostbite. Remember to keep dry. Always change wet clothing to prevent the loss of body heat. If you must drive, carry a cell phone. Always, keep the gas tank full. Don't forget, let someone know where you're going, just in case your car gets stuck. If you're car gets stuck, stay with it and wait for help unless help is visible within 100 yards. Use maps and car mats to stay warm.

AFTER A WINTER STORM: Avoid driving until conditions have improved. Avoid overexertion! Heart attacks from shoveling snow are the leading cause of deaths during the winter. Also, check on neighbors to make sure they're okay.

Frost quakes are non-tectonic seismic events, meaning they are not caused by the shifting of the Earth's tectonic plates. Also known as cryoseisms, frost quakes are caused by a sudden rapid freezing of ground and bedrock, usually when temperatures go from above freezing to below zero. As moisture absorbed in the rock and soil freezes, it expands. This puts a great amount of stress on the areas around it. Eventually, the stress is too much and the soil and rock will crack in an "explosive" manner, creating a loud sound and even shaking the ground surface. Since temperatures are coldest in the overnight hours, most people experience frost quakes in the middle of the night. Winter Storm Activities
Lesson Plan: Here is a great lesson plan on learning about winter weather. In this activity, kids investigate aspects of winter weather, such as temperature and wind. They familiarize themselves with weather-related words. It's a great activity for K-2nd graders.

Cold air moves over warm water and is warmed from below. Moisture evaporates in the air.

Warm moist air rises downwind of lakes and forms heavy snow.

Lesson Plan: Here is a great lesson plan on learning about winter weather. In this activity, kids learn how winter storms form and about the different types of fronts. It's a great activity for 3rd-5th graders. Note: This is a PDF file, so you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Measuring Snow Experiment: Here is a great experiment that lets kids measure snow. They let the snow melt and then measure it again. It teaches kids that snow is very dense and is why it holds more space than water.

The wind chill is the temperature your body feels when the air temperature is combined with the wind speed. The higher the wind speed the faster exposed areas of your body lose heat and the colder you feel.Melting Snow Experiment: Here is another experiment that teaches kids the difference between the freezing and melting process. It allows kids to take the temperature of a glass of snow. Then, watch the snow melt and observe how the temperature changed.

Frost Experiment: Here is a great experiment that lets kids make frost. They can see how dew turns into frost in a matter of minutes.Examining Snowflakes Experiment: Here is a great experiment that lets kids see snowflakes up close. They can examine the snowflake's six sides.
Pressure Experiment: Here is an experiment that shows how pressure is created in our atmosphere by sucking an egg in a bottle. This is a very cool experiment!
Science Fair Project Ideas: Here is a complete list of science fair project ideas. Discover the science behind the weather that impacts us every day.
Make A Barometer Experiment: Here is an experiment that allows the kids to make a barometer.

Evaporation Experiment: Here is an experiment that shows kids how evaporation takes place.

Frostbite is damage to the skin due to prolonged exposure to cold temperatures, usually below 32° F.

WINTER STORM WATCH - Alerts the public to the possibility of a blizzard, heavy snow, heavy freezing rain, or heavy sleet. Winter Storm Watches are usually issued 12 to 48 hours before the beginning of a winter storm.

WINTER STORM WARNING - Issued when hazardous winter weather in the form of heavy snow, heavy freezing rain, or heavy sleet is occurring. Winter Storm Warnings are usually issued 12 to 24 hours before the event is expected.

BLIZZARD WARNING - Issued for sustained or gusty winds of 35 mph or more, and falling or blowing snow creating visibilities at or below 1/4 mile. These conditions should persist for 3 hours.

FROST/FREEZE WARNING - Issued when below freezing temperatures are expected.

LAKE EFFECT SNOW ADVISORY - Issued when accumulation of lake effect snow will cause significant inconvenience.

LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING - Issued when heavy lake effect snow is occurring.

WIND CHILL ADVISORY - Issued when the wind chill temperature is forecast to be between -15°F to -24°F.

WIND CHILL WARNING - Issued when the wind chill temperature is forecast to be -25°F or lower.

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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.