A kids’ guide to Tornadoes: Nature’s spinning storms

This children’s article, A kids’ guide to Tornadoes: Nature’s spinning storms, has been written for native English speakers and learners of English as a second or foreign language. It can help children practise reading and comprehension, learn useful vocabulary, and discover how tornadoes form and where they strike. Written by Mark Pulley, an experienced teacher and writer.

What are tornadoes?

A tornado is a fast-spinning column of air that stretches from a thundercloud down to the ground. It looks like a twisting funnel, whirling dust, trees, and sometimes even cars into the air.

Tornadoes are some of the most powerful weather events on Earth. Even smaller ones can cause damage, while the largest can flatten buildings and reshape landscapes.

How do they form?

Tornadoes form when warm, moist air near the ground meets cooler, drier air above. This unstable mix, combined with changing winds, makes the air start to spin.

Storm clouds can tilt this spinning air into a vertical funnel. Once the funnel touches the ground, the tornado officially begins its destructive journey.

Where do they happen?

Tornadoes can strike in many parts of the world, but they are most common in the United States. An area known as Tornado Alley, which includes Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas, experiences hundreds every year.

Other countries, such as Canada, Bangladesh, and Argentina, also face tornadoes, though usually less frequently. No matter where they form, they can be dangerous.

How strong and strange can they be?

Scientists measure tornadoes on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, ranging from EF0 to EF5. An EF0 might bend trees, while an EF5 can tear apart houses and hurl heavy objects far into the air.

Some tornadoes are unusual. A waterspout spins over lakes or seas, while a blazing fire tornado can form when flames from wildfires are sucked into the funnel, creating a fiery whirlwind. For more facts about tornadoes, check out this from Central Michigan University.

Article vocabulary list

• Tornado – a spinning column of air that stretches from a cloud to the ground
• Unstable – not steady or balanced, likely to change suddenly
• Funnel – a cone-shaped tube, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom
• Vertical – upright, from top to bottom
• Tornado Alley – an area in the United States where tornadoes often happen
• Enhanced Fujita Scale – the system used to measure how strong tornadoes are
• Waterspout – a tornado that forms over water
• Fire tornado – a tornado that has flames inside it from a fire

Comprehension questions

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