I was wondering what the big fuzz was all about when my school authorities started installing those huge speakers everywhere around my campus. And in the name of testing their new “Inclement Weather Warning system” they made sirens every other time. And yesterday when I was just lazing around my apartment as usual I heard a loud siren from the same warning system followed by a tornado warning.

A tornado is a phenomenon which is usually formed during a thunder storm and when the temperatures between the upper and lower atmosphere are drastically different during that thunder storm. The instability caused due to the temperature difference is the main reason for a tornado to be formed. It forms a kind of rotating column of air in the shape of a funnel which narrows down from the clouds till the surface of the earth. This funnel like duct of air formed is called the vertex of the tornado. The most devastating part of a tornado is its speed, which typically is between 40 and 110 mph. These tornadoes come in various shapes and sizes and their intensity these days are measured using something called a Fujita scale with which a weak tornado is given EF0 in the Fujita scale and is considered to cause limited damage, while a tornado with EF5 prediction could cause wide spread damage to even high scrape or structurally strong buildings.

Some of the precautions that are suggested in case of a tornado warning are:

1. Stay inside and take cover possible in enclosed spacing like a basement or toilet.
2. Keep updated with the radio for tornado updates.
3. Arrange an emergency kit with items like radio, flashlight and first aid.
4. In tornadoes prone areas it would be wise if you familiarize with some drill for tornadoes.

Tornadoes have caused widespread human and material losses around the world and after learning the destructive power of a tornado, I was glad that my school had installed a warning system so that I could be prepared in case I had to face a tornado dead on.