Oklahoma Tornadoes

Oklahoma is part of "Tornado Alley." Tornadoes are strong cyclical wind storms that can do a great deal of damage in small spots where the tornado touches down. In the United States, Tornado Alley is a corridor through the middle of the country where severe storms often produce tornadoes. Tornado season is in the spring in April and May, with a smaller season reappearing in many areas in the fall during October.

In this scene from the movie Twister, storm chasers drive around looking for tornadoes to try to collect data to learn more about them. Scientists use wireless sensors that are picked up inside the tornado to record information about wind speed and rotation inside the tornado. The scene shows incredibly dangerous it can be to be a storm chaser and be near such large tornadoes. In many areas of the United States amateur storm chasers go out in every severe storm to record information and give visual confirmation of where a tornado is that can be passed on in real time to the public to help ensure public safety.

Storm Chaser Video Reveals Devastating Tornadoes

Scientists design new ways to learn about tornadoes. In this article, scientists are filming tornadoes near the ground to see the patterns and damage that occurs. Click the picture below to read the article and watch the 2 videos on the page about tornadoes. The El Reno Survey is a crowd sourced project to film tornadoes that was raised after the tornado that hit El Reno, Oklahoma in 2013 -- which was the widest tornado on record in the United States, at over 2.6 miles across.

Why would scientists want to film tornadoes near the ground?
What are possible ethical and privacy concerns that have to be taken into consideration by the scientists when planning their research?
How can looking at video footage of tornadoes and surveying damage sites after tornadoes help scientists learn about tornadoes?

More Midwest Twisters: Why Is Oklahoma Tornado Vexed?

Oklahoma is part of the midwest region of the United States often called Tornado Alley. What conditions cause more tornadoes to form in this area? Click the picture below to read the article to find out.

What meteorological conditions occur in the midwest that can promote tornado formation?
What are other conditions that can occur with tornadoes?
What are characteristics of storms that create tornadoes?
Why is it so hard to predict future tornadoes?

Travis Meyer On Whether Tulsa Is 'Protected' From Tornadoes

Indian legends tell stories of how Tulsa is protected from tornadoes. According to legend, tornadoes "go around" Tulsa rather than going through it. Stories explain that the bend in the Arkansas River near downtown shifts the path of a tornado or that Indian medicine men buried tornado protection medicine around downtown. Click the picture below to watch the news video and read the article discussing the truth of these legends and what Tulsa might expect for future tornado seasons as the city grows larger.

Do tornadoes actually touch down inside of Tulsa?
What are the legends about tornado protections around Tulsa?
How does a growing city change the chance of being hit by a tornado?

Explore Oklahoma Tornadoes

You will examine data about Oklahoma tornadoes to learn more about the characteristics and patterns of tornadoes in Oklahoma. Go to https://www.tornadoproject.com/alltorns/oktorn.htm#Tulsa to find your data.

Brainstorming

What types of questions could you ask and find answers by analyzing the data on Oklahoma tornadoes?

Map

On your map, color in areas of the state that you have heard of having a tornado. As you do your research, put a star in each country that you research where a tornado occurred.

Data Table

Create a data table for the counties you choose to research. Column headings should include: Country, Data, Time, F-Scale, and any other information you feel is important to document. Each row is a tornado occurrence.

Graphs

Make at least 4 graphs from the data on your spreadsheet. To make graphs, you can sort your column from your data table. You could make graphs that show number of tornadoes by year, number of tornadoes by month, number of tornadoes by counties, number of tornadoes by time of day, number of tornadoes by F-Scale, etc.

Discussion Questions

Support your answer with evidence from your data.

Is there a pattern you see between 1950 and 2016 with the occurrence of tornadoes?
Is there a pattern to what time of you tornadoes occur? If so, why would tornadoes occur during these months and not others?
Is there a pattern to what time of day tornadoes occur in your county? If so, do you have any ideas why that might be?
What was the average F-Scale strength of tornadoes that occurred in this county?
What other observations did you notice?

USA's infamous 'Tornado Alley' may be shifting east

Scientists have been tracking tornadoes around the United States. Is Tornado Alley shifting? If so, what is causing the corridor to drift east? Click the picture below to read the article to find out.

How long have scientists been seeing this trend of shifting towards a new areas?
Where is the top area for U.S. tornadoes?
How would a shift in Tornado Alley change the damage caused by many tornadoes?
What are possible reasons to explain this shift in weather patterns?