Tornadoes

You were watching your favorite television show, and suddenly, your screen changed to different colors. You heard loud beeps and found out that a tornado was going to blow through the area you lived in. Tornadoes can be caused in different ways. Tornadoes usually have very negative effects. Joplin, Missouri’s progress was ruined because of the tornado. Tornadoes are violent storms that cause mass destruction.

Chiefly, there are different causes for a tornado. “An MCS is a cluster of thunderstorms that act as a system and often produce severe weather” (Bluestein). Many past thunderstorms formed super cells; super cells contained fast-spinning air called a mesocyclone. “The air that rises from the ground in the vortex creates low air pressure near the ground” (Bluestein). Many tornado-forming thunderstorms have formed in low-pressured areas. “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” (WeatherWizKids). Chasing each other back and forth, the warm air and cool air make a spinning column.

In addition, the effects of tornadoes have been very damaging. “An EF5 tornado can remove a house from its foundation” (Bluestein). EF5 tornadoes are the strongest tornadoes on the Fujita scale. Tornadoes have caused great damage to very large buildings, and have also torn them to shreds; the harsh winds are enough to pull a house out of the strongest foundation. “A tornado may demolish one house, and leave a nearby house untouched” (Bluestein). Jumping from house to house, jumping tornadoes are tornadoes that may skip different buildings due to wind changes. “The suction spots that revolve around the center of the tornado can cause damage to small areas” (Bluestein). The suction spots have usually been so