Kanaan the Tornado Hunter

My Model Tornado!

Here are a couple pictures of a model tornado I made!

Different Types of Tornadoes!

Not all tornadoes are the same! Here are some of the different variations of Tornadoes that you might run into (but hopefully you won't!)

Rope Tornadoes ( They look like ropes and they can elongate themselves into weird different shapes.)
Wedge Tornadoes ( The name comes from their wedge shape and can have a base as wide as one mile!)
Water Spout Tornadoes ( These tornadoes form on water and don't do much harm to people. They are also 50 yards wide.)
Dust Devil Tornadoes (These tornadoes happen in hot and dry areas like the Desert. They also don't last very long and are very very weak. But it will be rare to see!)
Fire Swirls/Firenadoes ( Firenadoes are mostly seen in blazing infernos and can go up to 100 mph and are rarely seen because it usually happens in extreme wildfires. Once in Tokyo after an earthquake, a Fire Swirl killed over 38,000 people in less than 15 miutes!)

The parts that make up a Tornado...

A Tornado is actually made up of different parts:

The Condensation Funnel (the cone looking area of the tornado)
The Dust or Debris cloud
The "Weak Echo Region" (similar to the eye of a Hurricane)
Some tornadoes also have "Subvorticles" which are mini tornadoes within the larger one!
"Inflow tail" or "Inflow jet" (only some tornadoes have these) this is where winds outside the main circulation flow inside really fast!

Tornado Alley

Here is a pretty cool video with some awesome tornado chasers called Tornado Alley! You can check this movie out right now at the Museum of Natural Science Houston!

Tornado Watch!

What should I do when a Tornado watch is issued for my area?

Listen to weather radio (National Weather Service)
Be prepared to take action!
Move to a small interior room away from windows!
Think about creating a small tornado safe room in or adjacent to your home.

Link: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/tornadoes.shtml

First we'll talk about how a tornado actually forms! In the movies you might see the wind suddenly change and then out of nowhere a huge tornado is coming down the road, well there is a lot more to it than that!

First there is a change in wind direction and a change in wind speed, this creates an invisible horizontal spinning effect in the lower atmosphere.
Rising air in the thunderstorm updraft tilts the rotating air from horizontal to vertical.
Now an area 2-6 miles wide extends through much of the storm, most strong and violent tornadoes form within this are of rotation!
Then... there is a lower cloud base called a "Rotating Wall Cloud" that forms!
Moments later a strong tornado develops and then... YOU BETTER WATCH OUT!!!

Link: http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/edu/safety/tornadoguide.html

Tornado Time!

Hello! My name is Kanaan, I'm a 3rd grader in Mrs.Weeks/Ms.Schunneman's class at Hemmenway Elementary and I will be taking you on a journey through the amazing world of TORNADOES!