Storm Facts

10/25/2019 (Permalink)

Storm Basics

A thunderstorm is a rain shower during which you hear thunder. Since thunder comes from lightning, all thunderstorms have lightning.

A thunderstorm is classified as “severe” when it contains one or more of the following:

• Hail(one inch or greater)
• Winds in excess of 58 mph
• Stuctural wind damage
• Tornado

Tornado Facts

Tornadoes are arguably nature’s most violent storms. Generated from powerful thunderstorms, tornadoes generally appear as rotating, funnel-shaped clouds extending from the cloud base to the ground. With winds that can reach up to 300 miles per hour, tornadoes can cause massive destruction within seconds. Damage paths can be in excess of one mile wide and fifty miles long.

• The average tornado moves southwest to northeast, but tornadoes have been known to move in any direction.
• The average forward speed of a tornado is 30 miles per hour, but may vary from stationary to 70 miles per hour.
• Tornadoes can accompany tropical storms and hurricanes as they move onto land.
• Tornadoes are most frequently reported east of the Rocky Mountains during spring and summer months.
• Tornadoes are most likely to occur between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m.