What is a tornado?
Q: What is a tornado?
A: A tornado is a tube of violently spinning air that touches the ground and has strong winds.
Q: What does the word "tornado" come from?
A: The word "tornado" might come from the Spanish word tronada (thunderstorm), which comes from the word tronar (to thunder).
Q: How dangerous are tornadoes to people in cars or mobile homes?
A: Tornadoes are especially dangerous to people in cars or mobile homes and about 60 people are killed by tornadoes every year.
Q: How much damage do tornadoes cause?
A: Tornadoes can tear houses to pieces and often leave people homeless, causing a lot of destruction along their path.
Q: Where do most tornadoes occur?
A: Nearly three quarters of the world's tornadoes happen in the United States, however they can happen anywhere in nearly any part of the world.
Q: What scale is used to rank tornadoes based on how much damage they cause?
A: Tornadoes are ranked on the Enhanced Fujita scale, from EF0 to EF5 with EF0 being used for tornadoes that cause the least amount of damage, and EF5 being used for those that cause maximum destruction.
