Tornadoes

Tornadoes

By Caleb Saavedra

Table of Contents

Introduction Page 3
How Tornadoes are Formed Page 4
Categories of Tornadoes Page 5-6
Tornado safety Page 7
Glossary Page 8
About the Author Page 9

Introduction

Do you know what a tornado is or what they can do? They can be big or small.
Tornadoes can blow away cars, moving vans, destroy plants, trees, and
structures. They are very powerful and can be dangerous. The amount of
destruction is caused by how big a tornado is.

How Tornadoes are Formed

Tornadoes start with big storm clouds. Warm air is combined with cold air or wet
air meets dry air and the warm and cold air twist around. Some of the clouds go
down to the ground as a tube of spinning air. It is shaped like a funnel. If the
funnel cloud touches the ground, it becomes a tornado! It can suck up anything
that is on the ground.

Categories of Tornadoes

In 1971, Dr. T. Theodore Fujito came up with a six category scale to classify U.S.
tornadoes named F0-F5. These categories are based on the wind speeds in the
tornadoes and the destruction caused. The following lists the categories and their
descriptions.

F0: 40-72 mph - LIttle damage - Some twigs and branches broken off trees.

F1: 73-112 mph - Moderate damage - Moving cars pushed off roads and mobile
homes pushed off foundations or flipped over.

F2:113-157 mph- Major damage - mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped
or pulled up from the ground.

Categories of Tornadoes continued...

F3: 158-206 mph - Harsh damage - roofs and walls torn off houses and trains
turned over.

F4: 207-260 mph - Devastating damage - homes destroyed and trees flown off
into the sky.

F5: 261-318 mph - Incredible damage - homes taken off their foundation and
carried a long way to break apart.

Tornado Safety

Listen out for tornado sirens! They are giving a warning a tornado is coming. You
should go indoors and stay away from windows. If you can, go underground to a
basement or storm cellar to be safe.

Glossary

funnel - a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom
siren - a device that makes a loud sound as a warning
damage - to harm structures
storm cellar - a type of underground structure design to protect you during bad
weather.

About the Author

My name is Caleb Saavedra. I am 8 years old and in 3rd at Troy Hofer
Elementary School. I live in Plainfield, IL. with my family. I enjoy playing with my
brother Isaac, watching T.V. and swimming in the summer. I also take my dog J-
Lo to the store with my mother and brother.