Learn some interesting and helpful tidbits about tornadoes, lightning and floods.

Tornadoes

In an average year, tornadoes cause 70 fatalities and 1,500 injuries nationwide.

Tornadoes occur in many parts of the world, but are found most frequently in the U.S.

Tornadoes can produce winds in excess of 250 mph.

Tornadoes can be more than a mile wide and stay on the ground for more than 50 miles.

The average tornado moves from southwest to northeast, but they have
been known to move in any direction.

Tornadoes can occur any time of the year; but in Texas, peak tornado occurrence is in March through May. A secondary tornado maximum can occur in the fall.

Twisters are most likely to occur between 3 and 9 p.m., but can happen at any time.

Severe Thunderstorms

A “straight line” wind event from a thunderstorm results from a small area of rapidly descending air beneath a thunderstorm called a “downburst,” where the air strikes the ground and rapidly moves out from the impact point.

Downbursts can cause damaging winds in excess of 100 mph, and may or may not be accompanied by rain.

In Texas, downbursts are much more common than tornadoes.

Most of the wind damage caused by thunderstorms is caused by downbursts. Because of this, the threat posed by “non-tornadic” thunderstorms should be taken as seriously as that posed by tornadoes.

Large hail is the most destructive weather element to affect the United States. Each year, hail causes about $1 billion damage to vehicles, roofs, crops, livestock, and aircraft.

The strong rising currents of air within a storm, called updrafts, carry water droplets to a height where freezing occurs. Ice particles grow in size, finally becoming too heavy to be supported by the updraft and fall to the ground.

Hailstones can become as large as softballs and can fall at speeds faster than 100 mph. Although fatalities from hail are rare, they can occur.

Lightning

There are 1,800 thunderstorms in progress at any given time on Earth.

In the U.S., lightning strikes 30 million points on the ground in a given year.

Lightning injures approximately 1000 people each year.

The air around a spark of lightning can be heated to 50,000 Degrees Fahrenheit – hotter than the surface of the sun! The average flash can light up a 100-watt light bulb for three months.

Lightning has been known to strike 10 miles from the storm in an area of clear sky above.

The longest bolt of lightning seen to date was seen in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. It was 118 miles long.

Flooding

Flooding causes more damage in the U.S. than any other severe weather related event – an average of $4.6 billion per year from 1984 to 2003.

Flooding can occur in any of the 50 states or U.S. territories any time of the year.

Most flash floods are caused by slow-moving thunderstorms, thunderstorms that move repeatedly over the same area, or heavy rains from tropical storms and hurricanes.

Flash floods can roll boulders, tear out trees, destroy buildings and bridges, and scour out new channels.

Nearly half of all flash flood fatalities are vehicle-related.

Water weighs 62.4 pounds per cubic foot and typically flows at 9 miles an hour. For each foot the water rises up the side of a vehicle, the vehicle displaces 1,500 pounds of water. In effect, the vehicle weighs 1,500 pounds less for each foot the water rises. Two to three feet of water will carry away most vehicles. Trucks and buses with large tires are especially dangerous, because the large tires actually help float the vehicle off of the road.