What is a Tornado?
A tornado is a small but very violent storm. No weather system on earth has faster flowing winds, because of its spinning winds a tornado is often called a twister .
A tornado is like a thunder storm, but in a tornado the rising air inside the big dark thunder head forms a twirling funnel. Some say that it looks like a giant elephant's truck swinging back and forth.
Tornado fact file
• Most tornadoes strike between April and June.
• The noise of a tornado is as loud as a hundred jumbo jets taking off at the same time.
• Canada has the most tornadoes outside the United States . Bangladesh has the most violent tornadoes in the world. That is where tornadoes occur.
• When formed the tornado funnel is clear or white, changing to black or dark grey when touching the ground and sweeping up dust and dirt.
• The longest recorded tornado lasted for 9 hours.
• A tornado in Italy carried a sleeping baby in its carriage 330 feet (101 metres) setting it down smoothly so the baby didn't wake up.
• Benjamin Franklin in 1755 chased on horseback a tornado and kept trying to break up with his whip.
• About 800 tornadoes happen in the United States each years.
• The record number of tornadoes happening on the same day was 90 which was in spring 1974.
