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What is a Tornado? The Dr. Binocs Show | Best Learning Videos For Kids | Peekaboo Kidz

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The 10 deadliest US tornadoes on record | CNN

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Tornadoes are capable of tremendous destruction and can have devastating consequences. They are most common in the Central Plains and southeastern US, but they have been reported in all 50 states, according to the National Weather Service. Tornadoes kill an average of 60 people a year in the United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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What is a Tornado? | Weather Science | SciShow Kids

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A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that forms from a cloud. Sometimes it extends from a thunder cloud to the ground below. Tornadoes can leave a path of damage more than 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) wide. They can travel paths that span more than 160 kilometers. And while some touch form only briefly, others may last more than an hour.

Tornadoes start in a thunderstorm. But they also require other ingredients, such as instability. Air is unstable when it is warmer closer to the ground than it is higher up. That warm air will rise, just as a hot-air balloon does.

If that air contains water vapor, the vapor may condense, creating water droplets at cooler temperatures higher up. These droplets may now fall as rain or hail. The conversion of water from a gas to a liquid releases heat. That heat creates strong upward currents of air. They're known as updrafts.

Tornadoes also need wind shear. Wind shear occurs when winds at varying distances above the ground blow in different directions or at different speeds. As the winds blow, a horizontal, invisible tube of rotating air begins to form in the atmosphere. That tube rotates parallel to the ground (picture a giant spinning football or rolling pin).

A strong updraft can eventually lift that rotating tube of air until it's perpendicular to the ground. Now it resembles a rolling pin spinning on end. Soon, the whole updraft starts to rotate. This creates a special type of thunderstorm known as a supercell. If its rotation tightens, it can morph into a tornado.

(Non-supercell tornadoes also can form, although differently. They can evolve when ground-level winds blowing from different directions set a vertical tube of air spinning. An updraft then stretches that tube, creating a smaller and less violent tornado. When this occurs over water, it is called a waterspout.)
Power Words
horizontal A line or plane that runs left to right, much as the horizon appears to do when gazing into the distance.

meteorology The study of weather and climate events.

perpendicular An adjective that describes two things that are situated approximately 90 degrees to each other. In the letter "T," the top line of the letter is perpendicular to the bottom line.

supercell A rotating thunderstorm that can produce a violent tornado.

tornado A violently rotating column of air extending from the ground to a thunderstorm above.

water vapor Water in its gas phase.

waterspout A tornado that forms over water.

updraft An upward current of air. A downdraft is a downward current of air.

wind shear The effect of winds at different levels above the ground blowing in different directions or at different speeds.

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A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that forms from a cloud. Sometimes it extends from a thunder cloud to the ground below. Tornadoes can leave a path of damage more than 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) wide. They can travel paths that span more than 160 kilometers.

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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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How many tornadoes hit the United States each year? Do tornadoes hit large cities or only in open areas? Meteorologists Barbara McNaught Watson and Al Peterlin answer stu

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Kids Ahead - Tornados & Thunderstorms Articles - Experts answer tornado questions

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The Kids Ahead program is an initiative to increase the number of kids with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) competencies and interests.

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Interested in learning more about tornadoes? Are you a student looking up information for a class project? Then you've come to the right place! We've put together these tornado facts for kids to help you with the learning and research process. You can learn more about tornadoes by visiting our Tornado Facts homepage.

If you're doing a school project you can freely use the information on this web page if you give properly reference this website. If you want to report any inaccurate information please contact us.

Tornadoes are also referred to as cyclones or twisters.

A tornado is a violent weather event.

A tornado generally has a grey color tint and looks like an elephant's trunk.

The majority of tornadoes have a wind speed than is less than 100 miles per hour.

The majority of tornadoes only travel a few miles before they dissipate.

The majority of tornadoes only last for a few minutes.

Extreme tornadoes can have wind speeds that reach 300+ miles per hour.

Extreme tornadoes can travel 100+ miles before they dissipate.

Extreme tornadoes can last on the ground for over an hour before they dissipate.

There are about 1,000 to 1,200 tornadoes annually in the United States.

The Fujita Scale andEnhanced Fujita Scale are used to measure the strength of tornadoes.

Areas in the U.S. with the most tornadoes are Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Florida.

The region(s) that have a frequent occurrence of tornadoes are called tornado alley.

The 1925 Tri-State Tornado was the deadliest tornado in U.S. history, it killed 695 people.

A tornado hit Bangladesh in 1989 and killed 1,300+ people making it the deadliest tornado ever.

Doppler radar is used to detect tornadoes by looking for large rotating updrafts in supercells.

A tornado that forms or travels over water is called a waterspout.

Tornadoes in the southern hemisphere usually rotate clockwise.

Tornadoes in the northern hemisphere usually rotate counterclockwise.

A tornado watch is issued when the conditions are right for the formation of a tornado.

A tornado warning is issued when a funnel cloud has been sighted or a meteorologist has detected a tornado using Doppler radar.

A basement, storm cellar or underground area is the safest place to be during a tornado.

You might also want to check out our web page with general tornado facts. If you live in an area with a high occurrence of tornadoes we recommend you read our web page with tornado safety facts. Head on over to our tornado myths archive to learn about all the misinformation surrounding torandoes.

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Interested in learning more about tornadoes? Are you a student looking up information for a class project? Then you've come to the right place! We've put together these tornado facts for kids to help you with the learning and research process. You can learn more about tornadoes by visiting our Tornado Facts homepage.

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Find out what causes these deadly twisters—and how to stay safe.