A tornado is a narrow, violently rotating column of air that extends from the base of a thunderstorm to the ground. Because wind is invisible, it is hard to see a tornado unless it forms a condensation funnel made up of water droplets, dust and debris. Tornadoes are the most violent of all atmospheric storms.
Tornadoes occur in many parts of the world, including Australia, Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. Even New Zealand reports about 20 tornadoes each year. Two of the highest concentrations of tornadoes outside the U.S. are Argentina and Bangladesh.
About 1,200 tornadoes hit the U.S. yearly. Since official tornado records only date back to 1950, we do not know the actual average number of tornadoes that occur each year. Plus, tornado spotting and reporting methods have changed a lot over the last several decades.
Tornado Alley is a nickname invented by the media for a broad area of relatively high tornado occurrence in the central U.S. Various Tornado Alley maps look different because tornado occurrence can be measured many ways: by all tornadoes, tornado county-segments, strong and violent tornadoes only, and databases with different time periods. Please remember, violent or killer tornadoes do happen outside "Tornado Alley" every year. - NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory
| Composition | Kind | Creator | AsNotedIn |
|---|---|---|---|
| Composition | Kind | Creator | AsNotedIn |
| The Stormchasers (short story) | Short Story | ||
| The Wizard of Oz (film) | Film | ||
| The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (book) | Book |
| Event | AsNotedIn |
|---|---|
| Event | AsNotedIn |
| Great Natchez Tornado of 1840 |
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