What is a tornado?Ī tornado is a violently rotating column of air that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground. tornadoes cause 80 deaths and more than 1,500 injuries per year. ' Tornado Alley,' a region that includes the area in the eastern state of South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, northern Texas, and eastern Colorado, is often home to the most powerful and destructive of these storms. These violent storms occur around the world, but the United States is a major hotspot with about a thousand tornadoes every year. Giant, persistent thunderstorms called supercells spawn the most destructive tornadoes. Their winds may top 250 miles an hour and can clear a pathway a mile wide and 50 miles long.Īlso known as twisters, tornadoes are born in thunderstorms and are often accompanied by hail. Tornadoes are vertical funnels of rapidly spinning air.
