Every year around the world the Earth is hit by natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes. Both in which are very powerful storms that cause havoc, disaster, and in many cases death. In this essay I will identify the characteristics of both storms and evaluate the possible destruction of tornadoes and hurricanes to determine which is over all the most horrific storm system.

            Here are some tornado facts according to the article “Tornado Facts”. Fact number one is that tornadoes are rapidly rotating columns of air, usually in a funnel shape, which touch the ground. They most often hang down from cumulonimbus clouds and can cause wide spread damage in the affected areas. Another fact is that rotating Mesocyclones, which are also called supercells, are the best predictors of tornadoes. Supercells may also include hail, severe winds, lightning and flash floods.

For more information about tornadoes we can turn an article named “Tornadoes…Nature’s Most Violent Storms”. According to the article, 800 tornadoes are reported nationwide, resulting in 80 deaths and over 1,500 injuries on average per year. The most violent of these tornadoes are capable of tremendous damage with wind speeds of 250 mph or more. The damage paths of these large tornadoes can be one mile wide and 50 miles long. Tornadoes come in many shapes and sizes. They range in rank from weak to strong or violent tornadoes. However, in any case even a weak tornado is still capable of damage. According to the article, weak tornadoes have wind speeds of less than 110 mph and account for less than 5% of deaths caused by tornadoes each year. Strong tornadoes have wind speeds of 110- 205 mph and account for 30% of the tornado deaths per year. Surprisingly violent tornadoes have wind speeds ranging from 205-250 mph or more and account for 70% of the death toll caused by tornadoes each year. These are very alarming statistics but the most alarming fact is that there is no safe place when it comes to tornadoes, they can and have hit anywhere at any time.

Now to take a look at another storm system, I have found a great article loaded with information and statistics about hurricanes; which is “Hurricane Facts”. According to this article, hurricanes are large storms with rotating winds. The storms form over the warm waters of the ocean when there are large pressure and temperature differences between the warm water and the clouds. The clouds pull the moisture and the air near the surface of the water up, toward the clouds, which creates a column of fast-moving air. The storm is considered to be a hurricane when wind speeds reach 74 miles per hour or greater. Hurricanes can have a diameter of 400 to 500 miles wide. With a storm of that size it’s no wonder why it hits land with great force and brings with it huge waves and heavy rain that cause severe flooding. The article claims that about 90% of deaths that occur during a hurricane are caused by flooding.

Diving deeper into information and facts about hurricanes I found another article, which is also named “Hurricane Facts”. According to this article hurricanes are classified into five categories, based on their wind speeds and potential to cause damage. A category one hurricane has wind speeds of 74-95 mph. At a category two the winds of a hurricane reach speeds of 96-110 mph. Categories three and four have winds that range from 111-155 mph. With wind speeds of 155 mph or more a hurricane becomes a category five which is the most powerful of hurricanes. These storm systems called hurricanes need warm waters found in the oceans to survive and get stronger. So, only coastal areas are at high risk of the storms.

In my research I can conclude that both tornadoes and hurricanes are very powerful and deadly storms. But with the simple fact that a hurricane needs warm waters found in the oceans during hotter parts of the year to survive and grow it is the lesser of the two storms. Because, a tornado can strike any place at anytime. The solution for avoiding a hurricane is simple; just stay away from the warm coastal states during hurricane seasons. As for tornadoes, if thunderstorms or bad weather are in your area stay alert to warnings by the news or the local radio station. Also, remember one thing tornadoes can and will strike very fast so when the weather turns bad stay close to a safe place with access to a radio or television so you can heed the warnings!