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	• Science Desk >> ATW -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tornados I brought something very cool to show you guys today. Now this may look like two soft drink bottles, some duct tape and some water, but it really isn’t…it’s actually a tornado in the bottle. Now that’s cool! You guys have all seen pictures of tornadoes in magazines or on television but do you know what causes a Tornado. Well first I better tell you what exactly a tornado is. A tornado is defined as a violently rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground. The most powerful tornadoes can gain speeds of up to 250 miles per hour causing absolute destruction of anything that gets in its path. Scientists have determined that it's the Spring Months in a place known as Tornado Alley, located in the Central United States where tornadoes strike most often. So what causes a tornado? See… what happens is thunderstorms develop in warm, moist air that clashes with eastern moving cold air. These thunderstorms often produce large hail--or ice balls, strong winds and tornadoes. One theory as to how these tornadoes form suggests that in a thunderstorm dry warm air gets sandwiched in between moist warm air on the bottom and a stable layer of cold, dry air on top. If the top cap of stable air is disturbed by a change in wind speed in the upper atmosphere--the low level air can punch through the stable air above it. This triggers the release of latent heat which warms the rising air, causing a difference in the density that pushes the air up at extreme speeds. As other strong low level winds come in contact with the system a violent spiral develops and the tornado is off and running. If you want to learn more about tornadoes check out the ATW website at ATWONLINE.ORG and that’s it from the science desk! More Information 1. Lots of information about about tornadoes http://whyfiles.org/013tornado/index.html 2. Learn how to make a tornado in a bottle http://whyfiles.org/013tornado/6.html 3. Check out NOAA's (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) severe storms photo library for some good pictures of tornadoes http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/nssl/index.html 4.Check out NOAA's Tornado page http://www.noaa.gov/tornadoes.html 5. FEMA's (Federal Emergency Management Agency) Tornado site for kids http://www.fema.gov/kids/tornado.htm 6. Protect yourself and your family from a tornado...check out the Red Cross website http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/0,1082,0_591_,00.html 7. Frequently asked questions about tornadoes http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/edu/tornado/ © 2004 WXXI-TV/ Assignment: The World. All Rights Reserved.