The path of a tornado is one scary place to be
By: Judi Stuart
Port Discover: Visitor Services Manager
Dorothy was determined to get home after being
displaced by a tornado, but there is nothing fictitious about the recent storms
that have ravaged our area. The terror is very real, and unfortunately, it
continues.
Psychologists say that humans are most frightened
when they are not able to control their surroundings.
Tornadoes are events that strike at the heart of
that fear. If we become victims, we must pick-up the pieces and carry on with a
lot of help from our friends, family, and community.
We are fortunate that, comparatively speaking, the
Albemarle has a low risk of seeing the most powerful storms. The United States
has approximately 1,000 tornadoes touch down every year which is more than any
other country. Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Nebraska are known as
tornado alley because of the regularity of the storms which strike them each
spring.
In 1992, Elizabeth City was struck by an F-3 storm
which devastated the Edgewood area. The twister then picked up a school bus and
threw it 75 yards into a field on Halstead Boulevard.
There were 44 injuries, but no deaths, in the
surrounding area from that storm. As we always say, it could have been much
worse. Elizabeth City has had three F-3 tornadoes in recorded history and many
rated F-1 and F-2 storms.
It may seem that we are seeing more storms, and some
people wonder if it is caused by global warming, climate change, or increasingly
unstable atmospheric conditions. Heat and pressure drive our weather patterns,
and we know that tornadoes come from thunderstorms in a wind shear
environment.
These types of conditions occur east of the Rocky
Mountains more than anywhere else in the world.
Storms are born when warm moist air at low levels
meets with drier air aloft causing extreme instability in the atmosphere. A
tornado is a rapidly spinning tube of air that goes from the ground to the cloud
above it. As it moves, it picks up dirt and debris. Most tornadoes produce winds
that are less than 100 miles per hour, but some can attain wind speeds of over
300 miles per hour.
The country of Bangladesh experienced the deadliest
tornado ever recorded in 1989 when 1300 people died. In 1925, the Tri-State
Tornado which traveled through Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana left destruction
across 219 miles and killed 695 people and became the deadliest U.S. storm.
Scientists are studying the patterns of low
temperatures like we saw last winter and their interaction with higher
temperatures possibly caused by increased greenhouse gases. Any improvement in
the ability to predict storms will result in better preparation and less loss of
life and property.
Your best defense is to stay alert, have a personal
plan of action, and become educated about how to protect yourself. For example,
wearing some sort of helmet when you take cover is now recommended. Unlike
Dorothy, we must deal with our reality without magic.
(Source: www.tcdailyplanet.net)
