Tornadoes are one of the most violent and destructive natural occurring disasters known to man kind. They are one of the most powerful weather phenomena on land and can destroy an entire town in just minutes. They rank right along side hurricanes when it comes to destroying homes and ending lives each year. Statistically, tornadoes are the second ranked weather related cause for fatalities, heat comes in first. Tornadoes have been observed on all continents except Antarctica but are most common in the United States. (Glickman) In the United States alone there is an average total of around 1,300 touchdowns and 60 fatalities caused by tornadoes every year.
A tornado is a rotating column of air, in contact with the surface, pendant from a cumuliform …show more content…
In the Mississippi Valley and Midwest you have what is called Tornado Alley which is the area that is most prone to tornado activity and destruction. Tornado's most often occur during the spring time or March through June, when the weather is most variable. One state that has a history of receiving some of the worst tornadoes in the United States is Oklahoma. Oklahoma lies in a transition zone between humid continental climate to the north, semi-arid climate to the west, and humid subtropic climate in the central. Because of Oklahomas location between the differing zones it causes a huge fluctuation in temperatures and results in some of the most powerful storms in history. Since 1890 there have been a total of 157 noted tornadoes that have impacted Oklahoma. One of the most deadliest tornadoes to hit Oklahoma happened in 1847 when an F5 tornado hit the town of Woodward killing 181 and injuring 782 people. Although, Florida is ranked number one for having the most tornadoes in the states, the average tornado for Florida is only ranked an F0-F1 on the Fujita Scale. Most tornadoes that touched down in Oklahoma ranked mostly an F3 to an