Tornadoes

Tornadoes Are 100x More Likely Than We Thought, But That’s Good News

New research suggests that tornado outbreaks aren’t independent of each other, which in turn means they’re a staggering 100 times more likely than we thought—but that stormy grey cloud may just have a silver lining. Tornadoes are usually assumed to be independent, which is to say that their formation doesn’t influence the formation of others.…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Apr 16

The U.S. Gets More Tornadoes Than Anywhere Else In The World. But Why?

Though tornadoes have touched down in almost every country in the world, the greatest number of tornadoes shows up in the United States. And this isn’t just coincidence, — there’s a scientific explanation for why it happens. Atmospheric scientist Harold Brooks joined us today to take our questions about tornadoes — just as twister season…

io9 Ria Misra Apr 9

It’s Tornado Season! Ask An Atmospheric Scientist All Your Questions

Harold Brooks is an atmospheric scientist specializing in tornadoes and severe thunderstorms. He’s here today to answer our questions about tornadoes, climate change and extreme weather patterns, and the kick-off of twister season! Brooks is a senior research scientist at the National Severe Storms Laboratory, where he specializes in the why, when, where and the…

io9 Ria Misra Apr 9

The Into The Storm Trailer Has FIRE TORNADOES

Here is your new storm-chasing weather-destructo-porn fetish movie. It’s called Into The Storm, and it stars Lori from The Walking Dead, Thorin Oakenshield, and just a pantsload of totally insane tornadoes attacking one town over and over and over. This trailer premiered earlier today at CinemaCon, where the director Steven Quale (who directed Final Destination…

io9 Meredith Woerner Mar 27

Physicist Proposes 1,000-Foot Anti-Tornado Walls Across the Midwest

When it comes to radical mega-infrastructure projects, we can only dream—but we dream big. Here is one such staggering proposal to build miles and miles of 1,000-foot tall super-walls that will once and forever save Tornado Alley from its eponymous natural disaster. The idea comes to us from Temple University physicist Rongjia Tao, who will…

Tech News Sarah Zhang Feb 28

Aerial photos reveal the destructive path of the Midwest tornado

Tornadoes ripped through the Midwest of the United States earlier today and the damage it left behind is absolutely tragic. These pictures of Washington, Illinois, the worst area affected, show how a community gets shredded by natural disaster. The path is violent, the ground is scarred and the homes are just gone. From the aerial…

Sploid Casey Chan Nov 18

When tornados strike, which way do they travel?

These gorgeous maps have the answer. Created by datavisualization expert John Nelson, these “Tornado Travel Maps” depict the relative proportion of more than 60 years of U.S. tornadoes by their direction of travel. Notice a pattern? The maps are the latest in Nelson’s growing ouvre of gorgeous, natural-disaster-themed cartography. To date, he’s produced maps depicting…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Jun 18

This Terrifying Video Shows How Dangerous It Is to Film Tornadoes

As long as there are storms, there will be storm chasers, and the footage they get is always equal parts soul-chilling and awe-inspiring. Yesterday, chaser Brandon Sullivan and his team got a little too close for comfort with one of the many twisters that have ravaging Oklahoma. https://gizmodo.com/the-destruction-of-the-oklahoma-tornado-as-seen-by-goog-509820270 You have to give these guys props…

Tech News Eric Limer Jun 1

How Do a Building’s Guts Help It Weather a Tornado?

When a big funnel of destruction touches down, it puts everything that’s about ground in instant trouble. But exactly how much trouble actually depends a lot on construction, and not just things like structural reinforcement: pretty standard, inherent things like the size of the rooms. Making admittedly unnecessary use of its fancy-schmancy holo-table, CNN explains…

Tech News Eric Limer May 23

What it’s like to have an EF5 tornado pass almost directly overhead

Two days ago, as the 2013 Moore tornado struck Oklahoma, Charles Gifford sought refuge in a storm shelter. After he was safe inside, and with the door securely shut, Gifford poked his camera through a small hole, allowing him to capture this insanely up-close video of the 1.3 mile wide tornado. This video shows how…

io9 George Dvorsky May 22

Could you stop tornados before they start?

Oklahoma has been ravaged by a massive, mile-wide tornado, with more predicted to come. We talked about the megastorms with atmospheric scientist Karen Kosiba, whose work is showcased in documentary Tornado Alley. Kosiba is a researcher at the Center for Severe Weather Research in Colorado, where she studies ground-level conditions during tornadoes. She has also…

io9 Annalee Newitz May 20

Six decades of U.S. tornadoes visualized in one stunning map

Using almost sixty years’ worth of data from NOAA, designer John Nelson has produced a mesmerizing visualization of tornado activity in the United States. Ever wondered where “Tornado Alley” got its name? Wonder no more. Writes Nelson: Got this data from NOAA via the spectacular Data.gov. It tracks 56 years of tornado paths along with…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Jun 8

Why Are There So Many Tornadoes This Year?

The US is the most tornado-friendly landmass on Earth. We’ve got just the right mix of moisture, instability, lift, and wind shear to provoke more than 1,000 of the dangerous storms annually. This year we’re off to a banner start: Since January there have been 20 killer twisters responsible for 63 tornado-related deaths. And just…

Tech News Rachel Swaby Apr 17

Extreme Tornadoes Are Tossing 18-Wheelers Up in the Air in Dallas—Updated With Video of Trucks

Those things flying are tractor trailers, lifted several feet up in the air by the extremely strong tornadoes in Dallas County, Texas. It’s an emergency situation down there right now, and it seems it’s not going to stop any time soon. The storm is now in southwest Arlington and moving northeast. It seems that it…

Tech News Jesus Diaz Apr 3

Today’s Terrifying And Historic Tornadoes Up Close

Earlier today, vast parts of the South and Midwest were hit by vicious tornados that leveled entire towns. The storm started in Alabama in the morning; by the end of the afternoon giant funnel clouds were touching down in Indiana and Ohio. It’s already reportedly wiped one town entirely off the map. Most people were…

Tech News Kif Leswing Mar 2

NEXRAD: How Scientists Spot Hurricanes Before They Pancake Entire Cities

You know how you know about Hurricane Irene three days before it hits land and ruins the East Coast? Doppler. Specifically, the NEXRAD Doppler system that’s been tracking severe weather across the US of A since 1997. Doppler radar systems work by blasting out a short pulse of energy that scatters when it hits an…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Aug 26

Microbursts Are Just As Scary As Tornadoes

Golf ball-sized hail. Intense, gusting wind smashing the ground and spreading out, pushing everything in its way. Torrential downpour making it impossible to see anything farther than an inch away. My god, microbursts are previews for the apocalypse. This was filmed in Norman, Oklahoma. I’m never going to complain about heat or snow again. Mother…

Tech News Casey Chan Jun 15

What Five Days of Deadly Tornadoes Looked Like From Space

It’s hard to believe that this beauty can cause so much grief and damage, but from space even the deadliest of natural disasters always looks strangely soothing and mesmerizing. Those explosions of clouds seem to come from Earth herself. This video shows five days of deadly Midwestern tornadoes, from May 20 to 25. It was…

Tech News Jesus Diaz May 26

People Came Up with Some Crazy Ideas to Fight Tornadoes Back in the Day

I’ve never experienced a tornado but I watched Twister multiple times and I’m scared shitless of them. And I sort of understand the weathery science behind them! Imagine how people felt in the 1800’s when those menacing winding bolts from the sky would manifest and tear up everything in its path. Not fun. To avoid…

Tech News Casey Chan May 3

The Destructive Path of a Tornado

Last week, more than 150 tornadoes ripped through the Southern United States killing many. Satellite images have captured images of the tornadoes’ tracks and in this particular image, you can clearly see it zipping diagonally across the screen. The tornado whisked by Griffin, Georgia and was on the ground for around 25 minutes. The tornado…

Tech News Casey Chan May 3

Tornadoes Are 100x More Likely Than We Thought, But That’s Good News

The U.S. Gets More Tornadoes Than Anywhere Else In The World. But Why?

It’s Tornado Season! Ask An Atmospheric Scientist All Your Questions

The Into The Storm Trailer Has FIRE TORNADOES

Physicist Proposes 1,000-Foot Anti-Tornado Walls Across the Midwest

Aerial photos reveal the destructive path of the Midwest tornado

When tornados strike, which way do they travel?

This Terrifying Video Shows How Dangerous It Is to Film Tornadoes

How Do a Building’s Guts Help It Weather a Tornado?

What it’s like to have an EF5 tornado pass almost directly overhead

Could you stop tornados before they start?

Six decades of U.S. tornadoes visualized in one stunning map

Why Are There So Many Tornadoes This Year?

Extreme Tornadoes Are Tossing 18-Wheelers Up in the Air in Dallas—Updated With Video of Trucks

Today’s Terrifying And Historic Tornadoes Up Close

NEXRAD: How Scientists Spot Hurricanes Before They Pancake Entire Cities

Microbursts Are Just As Scary As Tornadoes

What Five Days of Deadly Tornadoes Looked Like From Space

People Came Up with Some Crazy Ideas to Fight Tornadoes Back in the Day

The Destructive Path of a Tornado

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