Block, Siteadmin, SkipCaptcha, Upload, Automoderated users, delete, edit, Moderators, move, protect, rollback, Administrators
27,336
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 3:
Line 3: + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
added Fujita scale table
==Tornado Physics==
==Tornado Physics==
Before thunderstorms develop, a change in wind direction and an increase in wind speed with increasing height creates an invisible, horizontal spinning effect in the lower [[atmosphere]]. Rising air within the updraft tilts the rotating air from horizontal to vertical. An area of rotation, 2-6 miles wide, now extends through much of the storm. Most strong and violent tornadoes form within this area of strong rotation.
Before thunderstorms develop, a change in wind direction and an increase in wind speed with increasing height creates an invisible, horizontal spinning effect in the lower [[atmosphere]]. Rising air within the updraft tilts the rotating air from horizontal to vertical. An area of rotation, 2-6 miles wide, now extends through much of the storm. Most strong and violent tornadoes form within this area of strong rotation.
{| border="1" align="center" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" width="800" style="margin-left:5px"
|align="center" colspan="5"|
|-
!colspan="5" align="center" style="color: black; height: 30px; background: tan no-repeat scroll top left;"|Fujita-Pearson (FPP) tornado scale
|-
! width="100" | Category
! width="100" | Maximum Wind Speed (mph)
! width="100" | Path Length (miles)
! width="100" | Path Width (yards)
! width="400" | Damage
|-
| '''F0'''
| 40-72
| less than 1.0
| less than 18
| Light damage to signs, chimneys; pushing-over of shallow-rooted trees and the breaking of tree branches.
|-
| '''F1'''
| 73-112
| 1.0-3.1
| 18-55
| Moderate damage; autos pushed from roads, mobile homes pushed from foundations.
|-
| '''F2'''
| 113-157
| 3.2-9.9
| 56-75
| Considerable damage. Roofs torn off frame houses; mobile homes demolished; boxcars pushed over; large trees snapped or uprooted; light-object missiles generated.
|-
| '''F3'''
| 158-206
| 10-31
| 176-556
| Severe damage. Roofs and some walls torn off well-constructed houses; trains overturned; most trees uprooted; vehicles lifted off ground and thrown.
|-
| '''F4'''
| 207-260
| 32-99
| 0.3-0.9 mi.
| Devastating damage. Well-constructed houses leveled; structure with weak foundation blown off some distance; all vehicles thrown and large missiles generated from debris.
|-
| '''F5'''
| 261-318
| 100-315
| 1.03-3.1 mi.
| Catastrophic damage. Strong-frame buildings either explode or are lifted off foundations and carried considerable distance to disintegrate; automobile-sized missiles fly through the air in excess of 100 yards; small towns within the damage path are leveled.
|}
==Occurrence==
==Occurrence==