NEW HOME BUYER GUIDE TO TORNADOES


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Informative Abstract..................................................ii*

Introduction..........................................................2

Dangers of Tornadoes..................................................3

When and Where Tornadoes Most Frequently Occur........................3

Tornado Warnings and Watches..........................................4

Safety from Tornadoes.................................................7

Conclusion............................................................10

WorksCited............................................................11

*Since this is an excerpt of a formal report, the page numbers listed here may not match those within the report.

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Informative Abstract

Tornadoes are one of the most unpredictable and devastating weather systems that occur in the world.  The dangers of tornadoes are incredible.  The residents of Omaha, Nebraska were devastated by the most destructive tornado in history, killing 94 people.  Most tornadoes occur in the Mid-west or the southeast and form in the afternoon.  Before sever weather occurs, the National Weather Service will issue tornado warnings and watches to inform a certain area of severe weather.  These warnings are communicated through the use of radio, television, town sirens and special storm radios.  The National Weather Service communicates the warnings and watches in a variety of ways so that most, if not all, of the population in an area is notified.  In the event that you are not notified there are methods of detecting severe weather from your home with the use of an AM radio or a television.  If someone should happen to detect a tornado or is notified of severe weather, there are certain places to find safe refuge.  The safest place for safe refuge from violent weather in a storm shelter.  Other safe places are in the northeast corner of basement and in the underground portion of half basements (common in houses built on a slope).  Some of the not-so-safe places to find safety are in automobiles and mobile homes.  The least safe place to find safety is in an open area.  So, this New Home Buyer Guide recommends that you take tornado warnings and watches seriously and to find the safest refuge in the event a tornado strikes your area

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Introduction

If you were in the central United States where there are miles and miles of flat farmland between each city or town and you were driving in the middle of nowhere and a tornado touched down and was coming your way, what would you do?  Most people would think that you should stay in your car.  But that is exactly what you should not do!  The safest thing to do is stop your car, get out and lay down flat on the ground.  According to the United States Weather Bureau statistics, tornadoes are one of the most misunderstood phenomena of nature, and people should not take the warnings and watches as a joke.  Tornadoes cause more death than any other weather maker in the United States other than lightning.

For these reasons, this new home buyer guide to tornadoes will inform you about the dangers of tornadoes, the causes of tornadoes, when and where they are most likely to occur, the difference between a tornado watch and warning, safety measures to be taken in the event a tornado does strike and what to do if you are not in a secure place.  This manual will not cover the technical and meteorological issues and characteristics of tornadoes because of its complexity.
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Dangers of Tornadoes

There have been thousands of tornadoes in the United States, and may people believe that a tornado will never affect them.  Tell that to the residents of Omaha, Nebraska.  The residents of Omaha were the victims of the most violent and destructive tornado in the midwest.  This is what happened:
The most destructive tornado that ever appeared in that part of the country struck Omaha on Easter Sunday, Mar 23, 1913.  The pendent, funnel-shaped cloud came roaring into the city just before 6:00 p.m., at Fifty-fourth and FRances streets and moved northeasterly across the western and northern portions to Cutoff Lake in the extreme northeastern part.  In just twelve minutes it had devastated a path five miles long and one-fourth of a mile wide across the city, killed ninety-four persons, injured several others, and destroyed property to the extent of $3,500,000 (1913 dollars), probably equal to three times that figure at the present value of the dollar.  Six hundred houses were completely destroyed and 1,129 partially demolished.  Three-fourths of the buildings wrecked were small frame cottages (Flora 116).

Tornado Warnings and Watches

A tornado warning and watch are very different and very serious, but yet many people do not know the difference between the two, and this causes a lot of unnecessary panic.  Until 1950 the United States Weather Bureau forecasters would not issue public watches or warnings for two major reasons:
  1. Officials feared public reaction to watches and warnings.  At the time it seemed reasonable because a considerable number of people even today refuse to understand the significance of these announcements (Whitnah 65).
  2. Forecasters lacked data about the formation of tornadoes and have previously hesitated about trying to predict the conditions (Whitnah 65).
Now, with technology, radar is used in tracking and observing these storms.

A tornado watch will be issued by the National Weather Service if conditions are right for a tornado to form.  This is also on the assumption that a tornado

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has not yet been spotted, but conditions favor such weather.  The National Weather Service, over the years, has been able to issue tornado watches within two to six hours of an actual tornado sighting or even the formation of a tornado (Dutton 89).

Signs of tornadoes can be associated with a falling barometer, a southerly or southeasterly wind and humid air.  "Tornadoes always occur in conjunction with thundershowers, especially heavy thundershowers" (Gibilisco 117).  When thunderstorms are severe, the National Weather Service will issue a tornado watch.  Quite frequently a tornado will not even occur in a watch area, but statistics show that more tornadoes form per square mile in watch areas compared with non-watch areas (Gibilisco).

A tornado warning, on the other hand, is a very serious bit of information.  When the National Weather Service issues a tornado warning, a tornado or a funnel cloud has been seen by a human, or a hook shaped echo is observed on radar.  "A tornado does not actually show up on a radar screen, but the cyclonic vortex, deep within a heavy thunderstorm, produces a characteristic pattern" (Gibilisco 120).  Raindrops that spiral upward with the whirling air create the echo on radar.  The development of this pattern always precedes a tornado, so radar can provide the watch area with a warning several minutes before a tornado is formed.  The warning, in fact, is very small in area compared to the watch area indicated earlier.

In states where tornadoes are more frequent, town sirens are used to communicate tornado warnings.  For a tornado warning there will be one continuous tone in most regions. 

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In small towns where sirens are not available, special storm warning radios are available.  These radios will remain silent until a warning is issued.  Also, these radios are quite inexpensive and a very good investment.

In states where neither one of these warning signals is accessible, there are other ways to detect tornadoes from the home.  The first way to detect a tornado is from a regular transistor radio or even a stereo.  To perform this detection method, you simply need a radio with an AM band.  In order for the detection to work, you must find a station in which there is nothing being broadcast.  "Normally, a moderate hiss or roar will come from the speaker when the volume is turned up.  In the vicinity of a thunderstorm the hiss is accompanied by frequent popping and crackling because of numerous lightning strikes" (Giblisco 121).  Within funnel clouds, there are continuous discharges of lightning which, of course, will create an uninterrupted loud noise on the radio (Gibilsco 127).  When you hear this uninterrupted noise, prepare yourself for a tornado.  You can prepare yourself by following the instructions in the last few pages of this manual.

The second way to detect tornadoes out of the home is through television signals.  "Channel 2 is the television channel closest to the electromagnetic frequency of the pulse of a tornado" (Eagleman 22).  So, here are the steps to use television detection:

  1. Turn on your television set and let it warm up.
  2. Turn to the set to channel 13.
  3. Using the brightness control knob, darken the screen so it is almost black.
  4. Turn to channel 2 and leave the channel selector be.
  5. Do not reset the brightness after the initial adjustment in step 3.
  6. Sit and watch the television set.
Lightning appears on the screen as horizontal streaks or flashes.  A color television produces colored flashes.  As long as the screen does not have a steady glow, the storm is not a tornado.  The signal of a tornado is an increasingly steady, bright, white light or, if there is a station in your area that broadcasts on channel 2, the darkened picture will become visible and remain visible as if you were watching a program (Eagle man 22).  If you receive any of these signals, you should follow the instructions presented in the last few pages in this manual.

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Conclusion

This manual described the basic characteristics of tornadoes and the damage that tornadoes have caused.  People should take tornadoes seriously and be aware of what the National Weather SErvice means when it issues tornado watches and warnings.  Now that the detection of tornadoes has become easier over the years, the detection methods discussed in this manual can be used to give people more time to find the safest refuge in the event of a tornado.  I recommend that in the event a tornado is heading in your direction, that families find the best structural protection that was outlined in this manual.

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  1. Dutton, John A.  The Ceaseless Wind.  Penn State:  McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1976
  2. Eagleman, Joe R.  Thunderstorms,  Tornadoes, and Building Damage.  Lexington, KY:  D.C. Heath and Company, 1975.
  3. Flora, Snowden D.  Tornadoes of the United States.  Norman, OK:  University of Oklahoma Press, 1954.
  4. Gibilisco, Stan.  Violent Weather:  Hurricanes, Tornadoes and Storms.  Blue Ridge Summit:  Tab Books, Inc., 1984.
  5. Whitnah.  A History of the United States Weather Bureau.  Urbana, IL:  University of Illinois Press, 1961.
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