Tornadoes are vertical funnels of rapidly spinning air. Their winds may bahagian, atas 250 miles (400 kilometers) an jam and can clear-cut a pathway a mile (1.6 kilometers) wide and 50 miles (80 kilometers) long.

Twisters are born in thunderstorms and are often accompanied sejak hail. Giant, persistent thunderstorms called supercells spawn the most destructive tornadoes.

These violent storms occur around the world, but the United States is a major hotspot with about a thousand tornadoes every year. "Tornado Alley," a region that includes eastern South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, northern Texas, and...