168 lines
3.6 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
168 lines
3.6 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
topics
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weather
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8481606
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-----
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# What is a tornado?
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## Tornadoes come in many shapes and sizes, but typically form a condensation
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funnel, with its narrow end touching the ground.
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![A huge tornado funnel cloud touches down in Orchard, Iowa][1]
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A huge tornado funnel cloud touches down in Orchard, Iowa Photo: AP
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12:01AM BST 29 Apr 2011
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Most have a wind speed of less than 110 mph and are around 250 feet across,
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travelling a few miles before dissipating. The most extreme however can attain
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wind speeds of more than 300mph and stretch more than two miles across. In the
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case of the Alabama tornado, it stretched a mile across, 20 times larger than
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the typical tornado. About one in every three is classified as "strong". About
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30 per cent of all tornado deaths result from this category, while nearly 70
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per cent result from "violent" tornadoes. "Violent" ones however are very rare
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- only about two per cent.
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It was also the deadliest tornado system since the "super outbreak" of April
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1974, when 310 people were killed in 148 twisters across 13 states.
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Tornadoes can be found on every continent except Antarctica. But the vast
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majority occur in Tornado Alley in the US.
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Tornado Alley covers an area between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian
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Mountains, and consists of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and
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the Colorado Eastern Plains.
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## Related Articles
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* [Tornado survival stories as America mourns][2]
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30 Apr 2011
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* [US storms: tornado blows shop sign 112 miles][3]
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29 Apr 2011
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* [US storms: bad weather threatens to delay Endeavour's final flight][4]
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29 Apr 2011
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* ['Catastrophic' tornadoes bring death to American south][5]
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29 Apr 2011
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* [Space shuttle launch delayed][6]
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29 Apr 2011
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[X][7] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][8]
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* Share: [Share][7] [ ][9] [ ][10]
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[Tweet][11]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/8481606/What-is-a-tornado.html
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Telegraph
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## [Weather][12]
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* ### [News »][13]
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* ### [World News »][14]
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* ### [North America »][15]
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* ### [USA »][16]
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* ### [Science News »][17]
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In topics
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[![][18]][19]
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### [Weather forecast][19]
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[![Lacy Tasker salvages what she can from her mothers house after it was
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destroyed when a massive tornado passed through the town on May 24, 2011 in
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Joplin, Missouri][20] ][21]
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### [Newest tornado pictures][21]
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[![A man carries a young girl who was rescued after being trapped with her
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mother in their home after a tornado hit Joplin, Missouri][22] ][23]
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### [US Midwest tornadoes][23]
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[![Vehicles are stranded on a flooded road near Vicksburg, Mississippi][24]
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][25]
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### [Mississippi River floods][25]
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[![][26] ][27]
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### [Deadly tornado in Alabama][27]
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[X][7] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][8]
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Share:
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* [ ][7]
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* [ ][9]
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* [ ][10]
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* [Tweet][11]
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* Advertisement
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![][28]
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Advertisement
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[EDITOR'S CHOICE »][29]
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### [Gil Scott-Heron: 'A voice for Shakespeare'][30]
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[![Gil Scott-Heron][31]][30]
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Composer, musician, poet and author whose writing provided a vivid commentary
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on the black American experience.
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### [Beekeeping diary: the new colonies arrive][32]
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### [Spectacular light show dazzles Sydney][33]
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### [WS Gilbert: a knight for our times][34]
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### [The Telegraph's Matt is Hay Festival star][35]
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Advertisement
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Classified Advertising
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* [Services][36]
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* [Property][37]
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* [Motoring][38]
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Loading
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[Find your ideal job with Telegraph Jobs][39]
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var puffs_8120657 = new Array();
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