4 July: Tornadoes

In 1643 on this date the first recorded tornado in US hit Essex County, Massachusetts. Here are ten facts about tornadoes.

1. A tornado is a violently rotating column of air which by definition must be in contact with the cloud above and the ground below. A tornado over Water is called a waterspout.
2. The word tornado comes from the Spanish word tronada, which means "thunderstorm". They are also colloquially referred to as "twisters".
3. They happen when a warm front meets a cold front, forming a rotating thunderstorm. While the geography of some parts of the USA make it most likely to be hit by tornadoes (The United States averages around 1200 tornadoes each year, more than any other country) they can happen anywhere except Antarctica. There have even been tornadoes in the UK.
4. Tornado Alley is an area of the US which stretches from western Texas to North Dakota. Here, dry polar air from Canada meets the warm moist tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico. The state which experiences the most tornadoes is Texas which averages 125 a year. Oklahoma gets 57 and Kansas and Florida tie for third place with 55. Oklahoma City holds the record for having been hit by 100 tornadoes. After the US, the country which suffers the most tornadoes is Bangladesh. The ones there are pretty deadly, too. In 1989 the deadliest tornado ever recorded in the world killed around 1300 people there.
5. The deadliest tornado in America was the Tri-State Tornado, which occurred on 18 March 1925. It travelled through parts of Missouri, Illinois and Indiana in 1925 left a path of destruction over 219 miles (352 kilometres) long and killed 695 people. It holds records for longest path length (219 miles, 352 km), longest duration (about 3.5 hours), and fastest forward speed for a significant tornado (73 mph, 117 km/h) anywhere on Earth.
6. Tornadoes are classified according to the Fujita Scale depending on how much damage it does. An F0 tornado does the least amount of damage while F6 is the maximum.
7. A tornado can appear almost invisible until it picks up dust and debris or water. In the northern hemisphere tornadoes usually rotate in a counter-clockwise direction, and in the Southern hemisphere they rotate clockwise. The sound the make has been described as being like a freight train, rushing rapids or waterfall, or a nearby jet engine.
8. There are a lot of myths about tornadoes. One is that they don't occur by rivers or lakes - they do. Another is that they cannot cross mountains - they can. Some say the change in air pressure around a tornado can cause a house to explode unless the Windows are opened. This isn't true either and could even put people in danger as they spend time opening all their windows instead of seeking shelter. 
9. The safest place to be in a tornado is in a basement, ideally the side or corner opposite the tornado's direction of approach (usually the northeast corner). If you don't have a basement, the central-most room on the lowest floor, under the stairs or under a sturdy table. The best thing to do if you're outdoors is lie in a ditch, not, as many believe, under a motorway overpass. If the tornado actually hit the overpass, you'd be in big trouble. Nor should you stay in your car because the car could get tossed about.
10. Tornadoes are most likely to occur between 3 pm and 9 pm, but can occur at any time. While there are warning signs, forecasts are wrong about 70% of the time. There is no evidence that a Green sky definitely means a tornado is coming although it is a phenomenon associated with the kind of severe weather that spawns them.

Secrets and Skies

Jack Ward, President of Innovia, owes his life twice over to the enigmatic superhero, dubbed Power Blaster by the press. No-one knows who Power Blaster is or where he comes from - and he wants it to stay that way.

Scientist Desi Troyes has developed a nuclear bomb to counter the ever present threat of an asteroid hitting the planet. When Ward signs the order giving the go ahead for a nuclear test on the remote Bird Island, he has no inkling of Troyes' real agenda, and that he has signed the death warrants of millions of people.

Although the island should have been evacuated, there are people still there: some from the distant continent of Classica; protesters opposed to the bomb test; and Innovians who will not, or cannot, use their communication devices.

Power Blaster knows he must stop the bomb from hitting the island. He also knows it may be the last thing he ever does.

Meanwhile in Innovia, Ward and his staff gather to watch the broadcast of the test. Nobody, not even Troyes himself, has any idea what is about to happen.

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