...TODAY/S TOPIC IS...PART 7...TORNADO CLASSIFICATION AND SAFETY...
---------------------------------------------------------------------
...TORNADO CHARACTURISTICS...
TORNADOES CAN OCCUR IN MANY DIFFERENT SHAPES AND SIZES RANGING FROM A
FEW YARDS WIDE...TO OVER A MILE IN WIDTH. THEY CAN MOVE SLOWLY...
ALMOST STATIONARY...TO AS FAST AS 60 MILES PER HOUR.
REMEMBER THE SIZE AND SHAPE OF A TORNADO DOES NOT NECESSARILY SAY
ANYTHING ABOUT ITS STRENGTH OR ITS CAPABILITY TO INFLICT DAMAGE.
SINCE TORNADOES CAN CHANGE INTENSITY QUICKLY THEY SHOULD ALL BE
CONSIDERED DANGEROUS.
THE VERTICAL WINDS IN THESE STORMS ARE CAPABLE OF TEMPORARILY
LIFTING HEAVY OBJECTS SUCH AS CARS OR EVEN PEOPLE A HUNDRED FEET
ABOVE THE GROUND. THEY ARE ALSO STRONG ENOUGH TO CARRY LIGHTWEIGHT
OBJECTS A FEW MILES AWAY FROM THEIR ORIGINAL LOCATIONS.
...TORNADO CLASSIFICATIONS...
TORNADOES ARE CLASSIFIED INTO THREE MAIN GROUPS BASED ON THEIR
ESTIMATED WIND SPEEDS...
...WEAK/EF0 AND EF1/...WIND SPEEDS OF 65 TO 110 MPH. DURATION
OF 1 OR MORE MINUTES
...STRONG/EF2 AND EF3/...WIND SPEEDS OF 111 TO 165 MPH. DURATION
OF 20 MINUTES OR MORE.
...VIOLENT/EF4 AND EF5/...WIND SPEEDS OF 166 TO 200 MPH. DURATION
OF MORE THAN 1 HOUR.
AN ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE WILL BE IMPLEMENTED ON FEBRUARY 1, 2007
FOR BACKGROUND INFORMATION...PLEASE VISIT:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/ef-scale.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/efscale/
...RECENT VIOLENT WISCONSIN TORNADOES...
EVEN THOUGH 80 PERCENT OF WISCONSIN/S TORNADOES HAVE BEEN RATED WEAK
IN INTENSITY...WISCONSIN HAS SEEN 3 TORNADOES WITH WIND SPEEDS IN
EXCESS OF 260 MPH THAT HAVE OCCURRED SINCE 1950. ONE OF THESE
VIOLENT TORNADOES OCCURRED AS RECENTLY AS 1996...PEAKING IN STRENGTH
EAST OF THE VILLAGE OF OAKFIELD IN FOND DU LAC COUNTY. VIOLENT
TORNADOES ACCOUNT FOR 70 PERCENT OF ALL TORNADO DEATHS IN THE UNITED
STATES.
...TORNADO MYTHS...
NO PLACE IS SAFE FROM A TORNADO/S RAGE. MYTHS HAVE PROPAGATED OVER
THE YEARS THAT CERTAIN AREAS OF THE COUNTRY NEAR RIVERS...IN THE
MOUNTAINS...IN A BIG CITY...IN A RIVER VALLEY...OR NEAR A LAKE ARE
SAFE FROM TORNADOES. IF WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE RIGHT...TORNADOES CAN
OCCUR ANYWHERE. TORNADOES HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO CROSS THE MISSISSIPPI
RIVER...HIT ELEVATIONS NEAR 10000 FT IN THE TETONS OF WYOMING...AND
EVEN TRAVEL THROUGH DOWNTOWN MIAMI FLORIDA. IN ADDITION...MANY
WATERSPOUTS HAVE COME ONTO DRY LAND AS TORNADOES EVERY YEAR.
...SAFETY TIPS...
THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE IF A TORNADO APPROACHES IS IN A PERMANENT
STRUCTURE ON THE LOWEST LEVEL IN AN INTERIOR ROOM WITH NO WINDOWS
SUCH AS A CLOSET OR A BATHROOM. DO NOT WASTE PRECIOUS TIME BY
OPENING WINDOWS IN YOUR HOME...INSTEAD...IMMEDIATELY HEAD FOR
SHELTER AND AVOID FLYING GLASS OR DEBRIS THAT COULD SERIOUSLY INJURE
YOU.
...MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES...
MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES ARE THE WORST PLACES TO BE WHEN A TORNADO
APPROACHES. BOTH CAN BE EASILY TOSSED BY A TORNADO/S VIOLENT WINDS.
TAKE SHELTER IN A STURDY NEARBY STRUCTURE OR LIE DOWN IN A ROADSIDE
DITCH AND PROTECT YOUR HEAD FROM AIRBORNE DEBRIS THAT CAN BECOME
DEADLY PROJECTILES.
TORNADOES CAN BE VERY UNPREDICTABLE AND CAN CHANGE DIRECTION AND
SPEED VERY QUICKLY. MANY TORNADO DEATHS HAVE OCCURRED BY MOTORISTS
ATTEMPTING TO OUTRUN TORNADOES.
MOST IMPORTANTLY ALWAYS MONITOR THE WEATHER CONDITIONS IN YOUR AREA.
IF SEVERE WEATHER IS A THREAT STAY TUNED TO YOUR NOAA WEATHER RADIO
ALL-HAZARDS AND LOCAL TV AND RADIO STATIONS FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION
ON WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN YOUR AREA.
FOR ADDITIONAL SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION AND UP TO DATE FORECASTS
AND WARNINGS PLEASE VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT:
http://weather.gov/mkx
RSS Feeds