On April 3, 1974 people of the Midwest experienced the deadliest outbreak of tornadoes in U.S. history. Severe storms throughout the upper Midwest generated a total of forty-eight tornadoes within twelve hours. It killed 256 people and caused more than 200 million dollars in damage (“Fast Facts About Tornadoes”). Little children were lost and could not find parents or the home they used to live in. Everything the children had known is now gone. Tornado destruction is costly to our environment.
WHAT IS A TORNADO ?
A tornado is a natural disaster. The natural ingredients that help make up deadly twisters are also the elements that can destroy nature. A tornado is a powerful storm, which is created when moist, warm air gets trapped beneath a stable layer of cold air. A tornado is formed when a rotating column of air extends from the base of a thunderstorm cloud to the ground. The air moves very quickly upward around the tornado center (“All Info About Science”).
WHERE DO TORNADOES OCCUR?
Tornadoes have hit all fifty states, but this does not occur often. Most tornadoes occur in what is known to many of us as “Tornado Alley.” The southern and northern borders of the alley often extend from central Texas to Nebraska and Iowa. Tornadoes thrive on lots of warm, humid air (“Tornado Alley”). Many of those states within the alley thrive on those weather conditions during spring and summer, but with the increase in temperature each year Tornado Alley may no longer be an alley. According to the National Academy of Sciences, the temperature has increased dramatically over the past two decades, which means the occurrence of tornadoes throughout the United States will increase. Tornado Alley will no longer be an alley, but a stop on the American interstate of tornadoes.
THE NUMBER OF TORNADOES ARE INCREASING
An explanation for the increasing numbers of tornadoes that occur in the United States, but especially Tornado Alley, could lie within the greenhouse effect. The chemical composition of the atmosphere has been altered through the buildup of greenhouse gases: primarily carbon dioxide, which has created a blanket effect, trapping heat and increasing the Earth’s temperature. If the Earth continues to warm up tornadoes will become more intense and frequent. Increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases are likely to accelerate the rate of climate change (“Global Warming”). These warm climate changes over the next few decades will increase the chances of tornadoes, resulting in more damage to the environment and more money spent to fix the cost of destruction. The Land of Lincoln will also be hit strongly by the increasing change in temperature. By the end of the twenty-first century, temperatures are projected to raise seven to thirteen degrees Fahrenheit in the winter and nine to eighteen degrees Fahrenheit in the summer (“Climate Projections”). Illinois ranks first nationwide in soybean production, second in corn, and amongst the top ten states for winter wheat, oats, and grain. The climate change could damage crop production and impair the way people in Illinois live their daily lives.
THE DAMAGE
Twisters can cause thousands to millions of dollars in damage. The Oklahoma City tornado on May 3, 1999, was one of the most expensive tornadoes in U.S. history. It resulted in one billion dollars of damage including destroying over 2,500 structures. Tornadoes are natural disasters that can devastate cities and leave many people without a home. Once a tornado strikes, the severity can vary; the land that is destroyed is often hard to restore. This causes many problems for those states in Tornado Alley because they are big farming states, so the majority of their income comes from their farmland. With the destroyed topsoil and crops it would be hard for many of those families to have a successful farming season. In result, they would lose money for the year and to restore the farmland will take more money out of their already shrunken wallet.
For whatever reason tornadoes occur the result is always costly to our environment. The millions of dollars spent to rebuild the destruction of tornadoes could possibly be reduced if we could figure out a way to reduce the greenhouse effect. The watches, warnings, howling winds, downpours, lightening, thunder, sweaty palms, heavy breathing, racing pulse, panicking, and finally the silence: the tornado itself comes and goes. But the trauma and desolation a tornado can leave in one’s mind can be overwhelming.
MYTHS
1. Highway overpasses are a safe place to shelter if you are on the road when you see a tornado coming.
-The truth is anytime you put yourself above ground level during a tornado, you are suicidely putting youself in harms way.
-Nine out of ten storm chasers would agree that finding shelter under an overpass is seriously dangerous.
2. Opening windows to equalize air pressure will save a roof, or even a home, from destruction by a tornado.
-Opening windows is a dangerous and useless waste of time, and actually could be harmful to the house.
-To get to the very center of mature tornado(where the pressure may be low enough to cause some explosive effects), the windows would have to endure 100-200mph winds in the walls of the vortex.
3. Some towns are "protected."
-The ideas that one's town is "protected" is wishful thinking.
-One's town is never protected for sure. The facts may say the tornado has been seen a mile north or south of town ten times in the past ten years, but has never made it through town. That is just luck, not "protection."
4. The southwest corner of the basement is the safest location during passage of a tornado.
-The side of the home facing the tornado is the LEAST safest part of the basement.
-A house is more likely to shift than be completely blown free of the foundation.
Many of these myths were found on the website http://www.tornadoproject.com/myths/myths.htm . For more details on tornado myths I suggest you check this site out.
STORM CHASING
Storm chasing is a hobby for many who have a interest in tornadoes and severe storms. Storm chasers often do not mind a little thrill in their life. Storm chasers can lead a very dangerous, but yet adventurous lives. They often put their own lives at risk along with others when they are out chasing storms. They often drive excessive speeds and hurtle down hail covered and wet roads. Many storm chasers take the extra precautions to make sure they stay safe and so do the others around them. There are some simple rules to follow when storm chasing.
1. Avoid chasing alone.
2. Be very alert to standing water on the roads!
3. Avoid chasing in cities if at all possible.
4. TRY and go the posted speed limit.
5. Use your turn signals!
6. Avoid unpaved roads!
7. Be thinking about your vehicle's visibility to other vehicles.
8. Be thinking about the availability of fuel.
9. When chsing in heavy rain or blowing dust, SLOW DOWN!
10. When you pull over on the side of the road make sure you are fully off to the road.
11. HAVE AN ESCAPE ROUTE, in case the tornado begins to go down the path you are on.
By following these safety rules, you will be able to have a better and safer success when chasing the storm. For a more detailed description of what to do and not to do when chasing you should go to: http://www.cimms.ou.edu/~doswell/Chasing2.html . Charles A. Doswell III wrote an essay on this website purely of his own opinion and experiences. I found many of the safety do's and don'ts of tornado chasing very helpful to any future storm chasers of America.
Below are some pictures I thought you would enjoy taken by storm chasers: Adam Frederick, Sam Cooper, and Brian Good.
MANY PEOPLE TRY AND OUT RUN TORNADOES. A DARK AND DUSTY AFTERNOON. 
THIS BOLT OCCURRED WEST OF CHILDRESS, TX DISSIPATING TORNADO, NEAR JERICHO, TX I hope you have enjoyed my website about tornadoes. These natural disasters can be very dangerous and devestating to you and your economy. There are many other websites about weather on the internet.
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