Joplin,Missouri

Tornado

Amanda Papp Pd.7

What is a Tornado And how do they form?

A violently rotating column of air, pendant from a cumulonimbus cloud, and nearly always observable as a "funnel cloud”

Many tornadoes develop in a special type of thunderstorms called “supercell”. Supercells are thunderstorms that are 10-16 km in size and rotate.

WARNING!!!

The watch was issued at 1:30pm, 4 hours and 11 minutes before the tornado reached Joplin! The watch further said there is a “high” probability of tornadoes and a “moderate” probability of a tornado of F-2 intensity or greater.

Equipment used

Satellites and radar are remote sensing tools that are vital because it allows meteorologists to see what the atmosphere is doing from a distance. They also need to know what the atmosphere is doing at all levels, which is why they send up weather balloons that track different meteorological variables as they rise, including temperature, wind, and moisture. Finally, they use computer models to input all these data and simulate future weather.

Speed, Category, Size and Damage

SPEED: wind speeds of 261-318 mph

CATEGORY: EF5

SIZE: At least a mile wide

DAMAGE:In total, nearly 7,000 houses were destroyed (most of which were flattened or blown away) and over 850 others were damaged. Communications were lost in the community and power was knocked out to many areas

Injury and Death

KILLED: 116

INJURED: MORE THAN 1000

MISSING: 232

Safety Measures

Seek shelter under a sturdy table in the basement.

If no basement is available, go to a first floor, on the opposite side from a tornado. Stay away from windows.

5. In a vehicle, drive away at a right angle to the storm movement. DO NOT GET CAUGHT IN YOUR VEHICLE. Abandon your vehicle and lie in a ditch or culvert or under a low bridge.