Hurricane Elsa was coming toward my house. My parents were teaching us about what to do in a tornado to stay safe. I started to wonder about them so I could know if one was coming. I wondered, how do tornadoes form? Could one start inside my house? What are the first signs of a tornado? We watched some helpful YouTube videos about tornadoes. You can check them out here:
Do you think tornadoes come out of the sky when they please? This is how they form. First, warm air rises and cold air goes down. They collide and they start getting more and more powerful causing clouds to spin faster and faster. That spinning causes a cone to come down from the sky. That is how a tornado forms.
Then I wondered, if spinning clouds can create a tornado, why does a ceiling fan not create a tornado? In my room, there is spinning air from my ceiling fan, but there is not warm and cold air. In order for a tornado to happen in my room, I would also need a super cell. A supercell is a rotating thunderstorm. Tornadoes form any place there is a thunderstorm!
How will you know if you will have a tornado? First, there needs to be a huge thunderstorm. Watch for the spinning and swirling in the clouds that is called a supercell. You can watch the news, listen to the weather reports, or get a weather app on your phone. These will help experts tell you if a tornado is coming. If they say you have a tornado watch it means the right conditions are in your area for a tornado to form. Keep watch! If you have a tornado warning that means a cone has been spotted in your area and you should get to your safe place until they give you the clear to come out!
Learning about tornadoes helped me keep myself and my family safe. You can keep your family safe by watching for swirling clouds in a thunderstorm. You can listen to weather experts to know if there is a tornado watch or warning in your area. You can get to your safe place when you are in danger! I feel safer learning about tornadoes and hope you will feel safe too!
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