10 Tornado Facts That Will Blow You Away

Tornados are an awe-inspiring and powerful force of nature that has piqued the interest of children and adults alike for centuries. Some people are even so fascinated that they have chosen to build a career around researching and chasing these cyclones. In today’s blog here at Stormbox, we talk about 10 interesting facts and statistics surrounding tornados that may just blow you away.

In all seriousness, though, tornados can be very dangerous without proper shelter and preparations. This tornado season, make sure you are ready with a community storm shelter from Stormbox. Learn more about our community storm shelters here.

Most Tornados in the U.S. Are In Tornado Alley, But Not All

While tornados can occur practically anywhere, they mostly seem to form in a region known as Tornado Alley in the U.S. Tornado Alley does not have clearly defined borders, but it does consist of large regions if not the entire state of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, and South Dakota.

In fact, in Tornado Alley alone, there are about 1,000 tornados annually. While the United States is far and above the most active in terms of tornados, tornados can occur in other regions on occasion. They can occur in eastern Asia, South America, Europe, and Australia. The only place that a tornado can not be found is in Antarctica.

Tornados Are Sorted into Different Classes

You may have known this fact — especially if you live in Tornado Alley. Tornados used to be ranked from F0 to F5 on a scale called the Fujita Scale. In the early 2000s, however, this scale has widely been replaced with the Enhanced Fujita Scale that ranks tornados from EF0 through EF5, with EF5 being the most dangerous and destructive.

If you live in an area prone to tornados, hurricanes, or other severe storms, our team at Stormbox can help. We provide community storm shelters that can withstand winds up to 250 mph that you may see in an EF5 tornado. Keep your community safe and contact Stormbox for a community storm shelter today.

1,431 Tornados in 2019

The NOAA reported that there were approximately 1,431 tornados in the year 2019 from January through November. This number is up from the 1,060 tornados that occurred the year prior during the same period. Over the last few years, the number of tornados annually appears to have been steadily increasing.

Tornados Can Cause More Than $14 Billion in Insured Damages

Along those same lines, according to PCS data, the number of insured losses in 2019 due to severe thunderstorms and tornados in the U.S. totaled up to more than $14 billion. Keep in mind that this number is just insured damages. Not all of the damages caused by tornados are covered by insurance. It’s no wonder that tornados have gained their destructive and powerful reputation.

In 2018, Louisiana Had the Most Tornados

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Louisiana had the most tornados in 2018 with a staggering 86 tornados in one year. For those of you curious, Iowa took second with 84, and Mississippi was in third with 65 tornados. Unfortunately, there was one casualty from those tornados in Louisiana.

Let our team at Stormbox help you and your community prepare for the worst. Order your community storm shelter to ride out this tornado season and many more to come.

Before a Tornado, the Sky Often Turns Green

For those who have seen tornado clouds and tornados for themselves, you’ll notice that the clouds will often turn a greenish color beforehand — acting as a warning before a big storm. While in most cases, you will see a green sky before a tornado, a green sky does not necessarily indicate a tornado is coming. The phenomenon is said to occur due to the incredible density of a thunderstorm cloud. Because of the dense nature and the angle of the sun passing through the water molecules on the thick cloud, a green color is often displayed. This essentially means that a green sky is an indication of a large storm/thundercloud forming, but not necessarily a tornado.

Tornados Often Spin Different Directions Depending On the Hemisphere

For the most part, tornados spin in what’s known as a cyclonic direction. However, a cyclonic direction is counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. So, if you are in the Northern Hemisphere and experience a tornado, it is more than likely spinning in a counterclockwise direction and conversely; if you are in the Southern Hemisphere, it is likely rotating clockwise.

Most Tornados Form During the Months of April and May

Tornados can form at any time of the year. But, they occur most frequently between the months of April and May. A large factor in tornado formation is from warm and cold systems colliding. So this time of year where the weather is transitioning from a cooler season to a warmer season makes sense.

April and May are just around the corner — are you prepared for this tornado season? If not, be sure to reach out to us at Stormbox to start setting up your community storm

An EF5 Tornado Can Throw Trains and Cars 1 Mile Away

We touched on the EF system a little earlier in this blog, but did you know that an EF5 tornado is powerful enough to fling a train 1 mile away? This is because EF5 tornados are classified by their wind speeds that are more than 200 mph. EF5 tornados are incredibly destructive and can completely level even the best-built structures. For those of you curious, the wind speeds used to calculate tornado categories are as follows:

• EF0 – Wind Speeds From 65–85 mph
• EF1 – Wind Speeds From 86–110 mph
• EF2 – Wind Speeds From 111–135 mph
• EF3 – Wind Speeds From 136–165 mph
• EF4 – Wind Speeds From 166–200 mph
• EF5 – Wind Speeds Greater Than 200 mph

Stormbox Community Storm Shelters Can Withstand an EF5 Tornado

At Stormbox, we build tornado safe rooms and community storm shelters to withstand practically any storm. Our community storm shelters are rated to stand up against 250 mph winds (EF5 tornado and hurricanes) and meet all FEMA 361 and ICC 500 codes. You can rest assured that when you implement a Stormbox community shelter for your business, government facility, or neighborhood, that you are getting quality-tested shelter at a price that won’t break the bank. We offer a variety of size options from 14 people to 49 people in one unit, but you can mix and match your storm safe rooms to meet your specific needs. To learn more about how Stormbox’s community storm shelters can keep you safe contact us today.