SECTION 4: RISK ASSESSMENT
4.5.10 Tornado
Hazard Background According to the Glossary of Meteorology (AMS 2000), a tornado is "a violently rotating column of air, pendant from a cumuliform cloud or underneath a cumuliform cloud, and often (but not always) visible as a funnel cloud." Tornadoes can appear from any direction. Most move from southwest to northeast, or west to east. Some tornadoes have changed direction amid path, or even backtracked. Tornadoes are commonly produced by land falling tropical cyclones. Those making landfall along the Gulf coast traditionally produce more tornadoes than those making landfall along the Atlantic coast. Tornadoes that form within hurricanes are more common in the right front quadrant with respect to the forward direction but can occur in other areas as well. According to the NHC, about 10% of the tropical cyclone-related fatalities are caused by tornadoes. Tornadoes are more likely to be spawned within 24 h ours of landfall and are usually within 30 miles of the tropical cyclone’s center. Tornadoes have the potential to produce winds in excess of 200 mph (EF5 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale) and can be very expansive – some in the Great Plains have exceeded two miles in width. Tornadoes associated with tropical cyclones, however, tend to be of lower intensity (EF0 to EF2) and much smaller in size than ones that form in the Great Plains.
Source: NOAA National Weather Service
Warning Time: 4 – Less than 6 hours Duration: 1 – Less than 6 hours
According to the NOAA Storm Prediction Center (SPC), the highest concentration of tornadoes in the United States has been in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and Florida respectively. Although the Great Plains region of the Central United States does favor the development of the largest and most dangerous
Wake County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan 2019
160
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online