Tornadoes are known to be large, deadly and unpredictable forces of nature. During a violent thunderstorm, a tornado has a chance of forming from violent rotation in the atmosphere, then becoming a violently rotating column of air. It then finally touches the ground and can cause destruction to anything it is near or touches. Although scientists still don’t fully understand how tornadoes form, the most violent ones are known to come from supercells.
“I think that tornadoes are one of the deadliest, if not the most deadly natural disaster on the earth,” sophomore Jillian Downs said. “The severity of tornadoes is no joke at all. Even though there have been many close calls, I’m blessed enough to say that I’ve never personally been near a tornado.”
A large, loosely defined area in U.S., including North Texas, has entered what is known as ‘Tornado Season.” This time of the year is when the most tornadoes form over the south-central part. This area is commonly referred to as “Tornado Alley,” but it is constantly shifting throughout every year.
According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, “Although the boundaries of Tornado Alley are debatable (depending on which criteria you use—frequency, intensity or events per unit area), the region from central Texas, northward to northern Iowa, and from central Kansas and Nebraska east to western Ohio is often collectively known as Tornado Alley.”
Multiple thunderstorms have occurred during the months of March through April. The more violent thunderstorms have a bigger chance of forming tornadoes, like the thunderstorm that through northern U.S April 17 and caused multiple tornadoes to form in Illinois, Wisconsin, Chicago, Minnesota and parts of Indiana.
“I’m always worried that tornadoes will hit my area during tornado season,” junior Sofia Viteri said. “I remember last year there was a violent thunderstorm and the sirens went off. I was in my room, and I didn’t think it was serious until my parents came into my room and told me to hide in the pantry.”
Meteorologists across north Texas analyze the weather 24/7, especially when these violent thunderstorms strike. For the Town of Prosper, they alert the community when there is severe weather with sirens, more specifically, the Outdoor Warning System.
“The Town of Prosper has an extensive Outdoor Warning System (OWS) which comprises eleven warning sirens to alert residents in case of emergencies such as severe weather, civil defense and hazardous materials accidents,” according to the Town of Prosper.
Tornado preparation is known to be a crucial step when tornado watch or warning is sent out.
The American Red Cross Organization recommends to “find a safe room built to withstand high winds. The next best protection is a small room with no windows on the lowest level of a sturdy building,” during a tornado outbreak. “Mobile, manufactured, trailer homes and recreational vehicles (RVs) are not safe in high wind events. Plan ahead by finding a sturdy building to shelter in before a tornado watch or warning.”
Tornado season lasts over several months, brings multiple storms and has the potential to pose a threat to all of the areas in tornado alley, and sometimes even the areas outside of that boundary.
On April 23, towards the end of the day, multiple tornadoes struck Enid, Oklahoma. News outlets NBC News and KOCO News reported on the storm. Both reported significant damage to the city from these violent tornadoes, and even 10 injured.
“On Friday, state officials released a situation update stating that the Oklahoma Highway Patrol Emergency Response Team reported approximately 40 homes with some level of damage in Enid,” according to KOCO News. “Sky 5 flew over the scene after daybreak, showing numerous homes destroyed in a neighborhood not far from Vance Air Force Base.”
This article has been edited by Amelia Hamilton, Trisha Panicker, Aarushi Rana and Kate Duncan.
