Take The Tornado 101 Quiz
How fast does a tornado move? How long do they last? Let's get started by seeing how well you know your tornado basics.
Developed in 1805 and still used today, this system is used to estimate and report wind speed.
Beaufort Wind Scale
Fujita Scale
Enhanced Fujita Scale
Synoptic Scale
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The Beaufort Wind Scale is based on a numerical rating 0 through 12, and is made up of wind speed (knots), a descriptive term and visible land and sea conditions.
Most weak tornadoes last about…
10 minutes
20 minutes
1 hour
3 to 4 hours
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While scientists can't be sure what the shortest or longest-lasting tornado is, they do estimate that most tornadoes last less than 10 minutes.
Which is not a type of tornadic phenomenon?
Super cell
Gustando
Dust devil
Derecho
Firewhirl
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Derechos are widespread, straight-line windstorms that can cause winds up to 100 mph.
Meteorologists and engineers use this to rate the intensity of a tornado, based on damage surveys.
The Enhanced Fujita Scale
Saffir-Simpson Scale
Modified Mercalli Scale
Cyclonic Scale
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The Fujita Scale measures the intensity of a tornado on a scale of 0 to 5 based on visible damage from winds.
What is a waterspout?
A tornado that forms over water
A spinning cloud that forms between ground and lowest cloud cover
A rapidly rotating air mass within a thunderstorm
A current of water or air running counter to the dominant current vector
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Waterspouts are weak tornadoes that form over warm water, usually out in the Gulf of Mexico or in waters off the coast of the southeastern United States.
What was the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's first mobile tornado tracking device called?
DOROTHY
TOTO
VORTEX
TURTLE
JUMPING JACK
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The Totable Tornado Observatory, TOTO for short, was outfitted with atmospheric sensors to measure temperature, wind speed, pressure and dew point along with other atmospheric characteristics.
What time of day are tornadoes most likely to occur?
Between 9 a.m. and noon
Between noon and 3 p.m.
Between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m.
From 9 p.m. to midnight
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Although tornadoes can occur at any hour, most happen in the late afternoon to early evening hours after tornado-generating storm systems have absorbed enough energy from both solar heating and the latent heat given off from the condensation of water vapor.
Where is tornado alley?
Eastern South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, northern Texas, and eastern Colorado.
Texas, western Oklahoma, Kansas, eastern Colorado and New Mexico.
Southern New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, northern New Jersey and Delaware.
Washington, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and eastern Nebraska.
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Tornado alley is a flat swath of land in the Great Plains where cold, dry Canadian air meets warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico -- the combination is favorable for tornadic thunderstorms.
The average horizontal ground speed of a tornado is…
10 mph
30 mph
50 mph
75 mph
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While most tornadoes move across the land surface at an average speed of about 30 mph, they are known to vary from stationary to 70 mph.
True or False: the use of the word "tornado" in weather forecasts was once banned in the U.S.
True
False
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Before 1950, forecasters were discouraged - and sometimes banned - from using the word "tornado" in weather reports because it was thought that the damage from a public panic would be greater than what might be inflicted by a tornado.
Back to weather school!
Until then, hope you don't do any forecasting.
Not too bad.
Brush up and you'll have your severe weather merit badge.
Excellent!
Ready for prime time weather reports.
Want to Learn More About Tornadoes?
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