Tornado Facts for Kids

What Is a Tornado?

A tornado is a spinning column of air that stretches from a thunderstorm all the way down to the ground. Tornadoes look like giant twisting funnels of clouds, dust, and debris.

How Fast Do Tornadoes Spin?

Tornado winds can spin as fast as 300 miles per hour - faster than a race car and faster than any hurricane! The fastest wind ever measured on Earth was 301 mph in a tornado in Oklahoma in 1999.

How Big Can Tornadoes Get?

Most tornadoes are pretty small - about the width of a football field. But the biggest one ever, in El Reno, Oklahoma in 2013, was 2.6 miles wide. That's bigger than most towns!

How Long Do They Last?

Most tornadoes last less than 10 minutes. But some monster tornadoes have lasted much longer. The 1925 Tri-State tornado stayed on the ground for 3.5 hours and traveled 219 miles - the longest tornado ever!

Where Do Most Tornadoes Happen?

The United States gets more tornadoes than anywhere else on Earth - about 1,200 tornadoes every year. Most happen in the central US in a region called "Tornado Alley". States like Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma see many tornadoes.

How Do Tornadoes Form?

Tornadoes form when four things come together:

1. Warm, wet air near the ground (like air from the Gulf of Mexico)
2. Cool, dry air high above (like air from Canada)
3. Wind blowing in different directions at different heights (this makes air spin)
4. A strong storm to pull the spinning air upward

When all four happen at once, a huge thunderstorm called a supercell can produce a tornado.

The Tornado Rating Scale

Scientists use the Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF Scale) to rate how strong a tornado is:

• EF0: Weak - breaks tree branches
• EF1: Moderate - damages roofs
• EF2: Significant - damages houses badly
• EF3: Severe - destroys most of a house
• EF4: Devastating - flattens houses
• EF5: Incredible - sweeps houses off their foundations

Only 9 tornadoes have ever been rated EF5 in the whole country. That means they're very rare.

Cool Tornado Facts

• Tornadoes can spin either direction, but 95% of them spin counter-clockwise (opposite to a clock)
• The sound of a tornado has been described as "a freight train" - very loud and rumbling
• Tornadoes can lift a house, a car, or even a train!
• Green sky sometimes means a tornado is nearby (because the storm has lots of hail)
• Tornadoes can happen at night when we can't see them - these are the most dangerous
• The word "tornado" comes from a Spanish word meaning "to turn"

What to Do If There's a Tornado

1. Go inside. Never stay outside during a tornado warning.
2. Go to the lowest floor. A basement is best. If no basement, the first floor.
3. Go to an inside room. A bathroom, closet, or hallway - away from windows.
4. Cover your head. Use a mattress, pillows, or even a bike helmet.
5. Stay away from windows. Flying glass can hurt you.

Do NOT hide under a highway overpass! That is very dangerous during a tornado.

Are Tornadoes Getting Worse?

The number of tornadoes each year is about the same as it was 30 years ago. But scientists have noticed that tornadoes are happening in slightly different places - more in the Southeast than in the past.

Famous Tornadoes

• Tri-State 1925 - killed 695 people (the deadliest ever)
• Tupelo 1936 - Elvis Presley survived it as a baby!
• Moore 1999 - had the fastest wind ever measured (301 mph)
• Joplin 2011 - the deadliest modern US tornado (158 killed)
• El Reno 2013 - the widest tornado ever (2.6 miles!)

Fun Vocabulary

• Supercell - a very big rotating thunderstorm that can make tornadoes
• Mesocyclone - the spinning heart of a supercell
• Funnel cloud - a spinning cloud that hasn't touched the ground yet
• Wedge tornado - a really big tornado that looks like a giant black block
• Rope tornado - a thin, twisting tornado (often at the beginning or end)
• Wall cloud - a lower part of a supercell that often means a tornado is coming

Storm Chasers

Some scientists and photographers drive toward tornadoes to study them - they're called storm chasers. This is very dangerous work! Only trained experts should try to observe tornadoes up close.