There are all sorts of violent storms. One of the most violent is a thunderstorm that produces a tornado. When warm moist air meets cooler air, they often clash. Tall tales like Pecos Bill and movies like Twister and The Wizard of Oz try to portray the destructive powers of this type of storm. Those fictitious stories give you an idea of what can happen but where does the storm begin? How do scientists study the storms? Where can these types of storms happen? How strong is a tornado?

A supercell thunderstorm is the most likely form of storm to produce tornadoes. A supercell thunderstorm has very tall clouds and winds that push cold air down and draws warmer air up. This can cause the clouds to spin. Not all supercells cause tornadoes. To produce a tornado, the supercell winds have to spin very fast. Some tornadoes are skinny and called ropes, others are wide at the bottom and are called wedge tornadoes. The widest wedge tornado was in 2013 at El Reno, Oklahoma. It was almost 3 miles wide! 

Today, using many different tools, scientists can predict the weather. Tornadoes are still unpredictable. Scientists can predict the type of storms that could produce a tornado but not all storms will create a tornadic event. One of the tools used by scientists are storm chasers. We know that if thun­derstorms are forming overhead, it's probably a good idea to stay inside. However, there are some people who jump into their cars or trucks and go to where the storm is. These people are called storm chasers. Some of these daredevils drop off scientific equipment that measure wind speed, and other atmospheric conditions. Some scientists drive radar trucks right to the edge of the storm. All of the data collected is studied to learn more about tornadoes and how to predict them.

Tornadoes are ranked using the Enhanced Fujita Scale. This scale rates tornadoes from EF0 to EF5. The scale measures how strong a tornado is by measuring the wind speed and the damage it causes, An EF0 is the weakest tornado and the EF5 is the strongest. There have been 67 tornadoes ranked as EF5 around the world. 59 of those happened in the United States. The city hit the most? The National Weather Service says since 1890, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma has been hit 140 times!