ing as small as a tornado.Where And When Tornadoes Occur:North America. Whenever and wherever conditions are right, tornadoes are possible, but they are most common in the central plains of North America, east of the Rocky Mountains and west of the Appalachian Mountains.Other Areas Of The World. Tornadoes can also occur in many other areas of the world as well. They have been recorded in Australia, Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America as well as in North America.Spring And Summer. They occur mostly during the spring and summer, however, the tornado season comes early in the south and later in the north because spring comes later in the year as one moves northward. They usually occur during the late afternoon and early evening. However, they have been know to occur in every state in the United States, on any day of the year, and at any hour.Damage:Wind. The damage from tornadoes comes from the strong winds they contain. It is generally believed that tornadic wind speeds can be as high as three hundred miles per hour in most violent tornadoes. Wind speeds that high can cause automobiles to become airborne, rip ordinary homes to shreds, and turn broken glass and other debris into lethal missiles.The biggest threat to living creatures, including humans, from tornadoes is from flying debris and from being tossed about in the wind. It used to be believed that the low pressure in a tornado contributed to the damage by making buildings "explode" but this is no longer believed to be true.Detection Of Tornadoes:Doppler Radar. Today, the development of Doppler radar has made it possible, under certain circumstances, to detect a tornado's winds with a radar. However, human beings remain an important part of the system to detect tornadoes because not all of them occur in situations where radar can "see" them.Ordinary citizen volunteers make up what is called SKYWARN (www.skywarn.org) network of storm spotters who work with their local communities...
