JOSANGEL21

A **tornado** is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a or, in rare cases, the base of a. They are often referred to as a **twister** or a **cyclone**, although the word is used in meteorology in a wider sense, to name any closed circulation. Tornadoes come in many shapes and sizes, but are typically in the form of a visible, whose narrow end touches the earth and is often encircled by a cloud of and. Most tornadoes have wind speeds less than 110 miles per hour (177 km/h), are approximately 250 feet (76 m) across, and travel a few miles (several kilometers) before dissipating. The tornadoes can attain wind speeds of more than 300 mph (480 km/h), stretch more than two miles (3.2 km) across, and stay on the ground for dozens of miles (more than 100 km).

Tornadoes are vertical funnels of rapidly spinning air. Their winds may top 250 miles (400 kilometers) an hour and can clear-cut a pathway a mile (1.6 kilometers) wide and 50 miles (80 kilometers) long. Twisters are born in thunderstorms and are often accompanied by hail. Giant, persistent thunderstorms called supercells spawn the most destructive tornadoes. These violent storms occur around the world, but the United States is a major hotspot with about a thousand tornadoes every year. "Tornado Alley," a region that includes eastern South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, northern Texas, and eastern Colorado, is home to the most powerful and destructive of these storms. U.S. tornadoes cause 80 deaths and more than 1,500 injuries per year. Tornadoes are classified as weak, strong, or violent storms. Violent tornadoes comprise only about two percent of all tornadoes, but they cause 70 percent of all tornado deaths and may last an hour or more. People, cars, and even buildings may be hurled aloft by tornado-force winds—or simply blown away. Most injuries and deaths are caused by flying debris. Tornado forecasters can't provide the same kind of warning that hurricane watchers can, but they can do enough to save lives. Today the average warning time for a tornado alert is 13 minutes. Tornadoes can also be identified by warning signs that include a dark, greenish sky, large hail, and a powerful train-like roar.

THIS IS WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT WEATHER

BY JOSANGEL ROSADO VISMAR BAEZ JASON ROSARIO

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >
 *  The highest temperature ever recorded in Antarctica is 14.6 °C (59 °F), recorded on January 5, 1974. More [|temperature facts].
 * The most rain fall ever recorded in 24 hours is 182.5 centimetres (71.9 inches) in Foc-Foc, La Réunion, during tropical cyclone Denise on January 8, 1966.
 * The most rain fall ever recorded in one year is 25.4 meters (1000 inches) in Cherrapunji, India.
 * The highest snow fall ever recorded in a one year period was 31.1 meters (1224 inches) in Mount Rainier, Washington State, United States, between February 19, 1971 and February 18, 1972.