Tornado Season

Tornado climatology

Tornadoes have been recorded on all continents except Antarctica. They are most common in the middle latitudes where conditions are often favorable for convective storm development. The United States has the most tornadoes of any country, as well as the strongest and most violent tornadoes. A large portion of these tornadoes form in an area of the central United States popularly known as Tornado Alley. Canada experiences the second most tornadoes. Ontario and the Prairie Provinces see the highest frequency. Other areas of the world that have frequent tornadoes include significant portions of Europe, South Africa, Philippines, Bangladesh, parts of Argentina, Uruguay, southern and southeastern Brazil, northern Mexico, eastern and western Australia, New Zealand, and far eastern Asia.

Tornado

A tornado, also known as a twister, is a rapidly rotating column of air that extends vertically from the surface of the Earth to the base of a cumulonimbus or cumulus cloud. Tornadoes are often visible in the form of a condensation funnel originating from the cloud base, with a cloud of rotating debris and dust close to the ground. Most tornadoes have wind speeds less than 180 kilometers per hour, are about 80 meters across, and travel several kilometers before dissipating. The most extreme tornadoes can attain wind speeds of more than 480 kilometers per hour (300 mph), can be more than 3 kilometers (2 mi) in diameter, and can stay on the ground for more than 100 km (62 mi).

Season

A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and polar regions, the seasons are marked by changes in the intensity of sunlight that reaches the Earth's surface, variations of which may cause animals to undergo hibernation or to migrate, and plants to be dormant. Various cultures define the number and nature of seasons based on regional variations, and as such there are a number of both modern and historical definitions of the seasons.

tornado

Noun

1. A violent wind in the form of a mobile, rapidly rotating, funnel cloud that has contacted the ground.

Verb

1. To sweep through something violently.

season

Noun

1. Each of the divisions of a year based on the prevailing weather: spring, summer, autumn (fall) and winter; or the rainy (monsoon) and dry season, depending on the climate.
2. A period of the year when something particular happens.

Verb

1. To habituate, accustom, or inure (someone or something) to a particular use, purpose, or circumstance.
2. To prepare by drying or hardening, or removal of natural juices.