OMG It's a Tornado! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tornado Alley

The nickname "tornado alley" was coined by the US Air Force in 1952 during a research study of severe weather. The US "tornado alley" includes Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and Nebraska, though adjoining and more northern states are reporting more tornadoes. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration the increased number and severity is due only to our improved ability to spot and report them. Ontario, Canada has its own tornado alley. Second to the US, Canada has more tornadoes than anywhere in the world.

The word tornado originates with the Latin "tonare", to thunder.

Answer: Warning sirens

"Take cover" siren warnings work because tornadoes form and travel fast. The average lead-time warning is just 13 minutes, and that warning must reach everyone, no matter where they are or what they are doing. The precursor to these sirens were "air raid" sirens in Europe, designed for attacks of war or nuclear meltdown. More recently schools use sirens to warn of shooter attack. Standard sirens sound in one or all directions up to 135 decibels at 100 feet (30 m), though there are many new kinds. Cell phones are another way cities quickly send alarms.

Homes in tornado alley have unique requirements, like stronger roofs and powerful foundation attachments. Most homes also have basements, and the lucky few have a "storm cellar" built underground. Tim-tim should check his city regulations, and his home and neighborhood, so he knows which safety options are available to him.

Answer: Hurry to a shelter spot

As a tornado nears, Tim-tim can waste no time. He should go immediately to a cellar underground, or a basement area away from all windows. No basement? A bathroom has strong walls, and often no windows. If Tim-tim is in his car, he should LEAVE and rush to a low-lying area, then lie flat with his hands protecting his head.

A big tornado can easily pick up a car, shake or smash it, or toss it some distance. It bursts out windows, starts fires and topples towers and trees. Weirdly, a tornado may devastate a large swath, yet leave buildings within feet of its swath untouched.

Answer: Walk quickly down the stairs to the basement

While a mall seems like a solid place, buildings with a long-span are very dangerous during a tornado. The roof is usually supported only by outside walls, so when tornadoes pressure the building, the roof collapses. Tim-tim should take the stairs directly to the lowest level, away from any windows. If he is trapped on a higher level, he should avoid elevators and escalators, enter a furniture or mattress store, and crawl under a heavy desk, shelf or counter.

At the very least, he can stand under a solid door frame, shielding his body from flying debris with a mattress or heavy coat. Most of the time the tornado will sail on by, and Tim-tim may feel silly crouched under a mattress.

But if the mall is hit, Tim-tim can save his life by taking correct cover.

Answer: A freight train

Many people describe an approaching tornado as sounding "like a freight train". A tornado has a low roar as it approaches from a distance, then rushes past fast, like a train. It's the tightly wound funnel that makes the rushing, rumbling noise, combined with its load of sucked-up debris.

A tornado can approach and be gone in as little as five to ten minutes, though it may linger for hours. Any time you hear this freight train roar, you are too close! Hit the ground.

Answer: Bright green

A hallmark sky in tornado country is bright green with low, black clouds, often preceded by heavy rain or hail. If Tim-tim's baseball team notices an eerie calm after heavy rain or hail, and dark, low clouds with green sky roll in, better run for a ditch or a gully! Why a tornado sky is green can be complex--its because of an interplay of time of day, light and types of clouds, but generally, it's due to the nature of the thunderclouds that accompany a tornado. Take heed: a tornado may approach without a green sky, and not at its usual late afternoon time.

Answer: False

Tornado forward moving speed can vary from nearly standing still, to about 115 mph, but the average is around 30 mph (48km). That may seem like beatable speed in a car, but here's the problem: tornadoes are a column of air, from 100 yards to 2.6 miles wide, rotating violently around a small, calm center.

They develop thousands of feet in the air, then descend suddenly from a thunderstorm to the ground. They may "touch" ground and rise up again, quickly change direction, or race along the ground destroying everything in their paths.

Their path may be a few or even hundreds of miles long. Though Tim-tim may think 30-70 mph is beatable in his car, that's unwise. Often people die in their vehicles, trying to out race these powerful, capricious funnels.

Answer: Bangladesh

On April 26, 1989 Bangladesh suffered the "Daulatpur-Saturia", a tornado so deadly it killed an estimated 1,300 people. This tornado was about one mile wide, with a path 50 miles long, and it destroyed the cities of Saturia and Manikganj. During its onslaught an additional 12,000 people were injured and, except for the skeletons of trees, there was nothing left standing in its wake.

After the US and Canada, Bangladesh is the most frequently hit by tornadoes, though South Africa and Europe also get many. If Tim-tim wants to avoid tornadoes, he could move to Antarctica, the only continent never to be struck by a tornado.

Answer: South Africa

President Nelson Mandela of South Africa was in the coastal town of Umtata on December 15, 1998, when a tornado burst from a storm and struck. He was saved by lying on the floor of the pharmacy, and his guards piled over him. Though doors and windows shattered, part of the roof caved in, and 11 unfortunates died, Mandela, at 80 years old, was uninjured.

Tim-tim has no bodyguards, but a mattress, door, heavy desk, or large carpet can be placed over the body to shield it from falling and flying objects. These covers might create an air space, if Tim-tim were to be buried under debris. Many a person has been unburied and rescued because of a cell phone in their pocket.

Answer: Any time - all year round

In the US by far the most tornadoes occur in April to June, though a tornado can struck at any time of year. The least frequent month is December, because a tornado thrives on warm, moist air. The US has about 1,000 tornadoes each year, where 30% of these are "strong" and 2% "violent". According to the National Severe Storms Laboratory, on average eighty Americans are killed by tornadoes every year.

In Bangladesh about 179 die each year. An additional number are killed or injured by associated lightning, hail, and flooding.

Although a tornado path is typically discrete and limited, making it likely Tim-tim is outside of it, any local tornado is deadly, so Tim-tim must be both informed and prepared.