The professor of climatology explains
Tornadoes are eddies that stretch from the Earth to thunderclouds. Typically, such eddies have a diameter of about 100 meters and can travel up to five kilometers before they completely dissipate. Such natural phenomena can indeed be dangerous, and here’s what to do if you encounter one of them.
As Professor Dann Mitchell of the University of Bristol points out, tornadoes can’t really be seen with the naked eye. And they become visible to people only when they begin to carry something: water in the form of water vapor, some large fragments, etc.
Predicting the appearance of a tornado is very difficult. Often, specialists can rely only on mesocyclone data.
There are several varieties of tornadoes. There are strong water tornadoes (but they are considered tornadoes only when moving to land), snow tornadoes. Dust (a vortex consisting of dust) or fire (a vortex that carries fire) devils are not tornadoes, although they are very similar to them.
Of all the countries in the world, tornadoes are the most observed in the UK. Its inhabitants face about 30 tornadoes annually.
So is it possible to survive if you suddenly encountered a tornado? And how to do it?
According to the professor, people die during tornadoes most often due to the collapse of debris or shelters. The degree of destruction that a tornado will bring is related to the strength of the tornado. This force is measured according to the Fujita scale (F). The weakest tornadoes (F0) are believed to have speeds up to 113 km/h and generally cannot seriously damage infrastructure. However, it must be borne in mind that even such tornadoes are capable of uprooting trees and making dangerous projectiles out of small objects. For this reason, the expert advises to stay at home during a tornado and as far away from windows as possible .
As for F5 tornadoes, they are really destructive. During them, it is impossible to survive without special shelter: for example, a special shelter from storms or the basement of a building that is resistant to such natural phenomena. Also, even in shelter, it will be better to climb under a sturdy table .
