The Wonders of Tornadoes
What are tornadoes?
Tornadoes are high speed wind storms with funnel shaped clouds.
Where do tornadoes happen?
Tornadoes take place in many places throughout the United States, but most form in an area known as Tornado Alley. Tornado Alley is made up of the states Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Kansas.
Where do tornadoes happen?
Tornadoes can take place at any time during the year. But most take place during the months between March and May. These months are known as tornado season.
How fast are they?
Tornadoes have extremely high winds speeds much like hurricanes. The fastest tornado wind speeds can reach up to 318 MPH. Wind speeds are measured with the Fujita Scale , which has five levels.
How long do tornadoes last?
Most tornadoes will only last about 5 minutes once it has touched ground.
How can we track them?
Tornadoes are tracked using a system known as Doppler Radar .