With record-setting tornado outbreaks across the United States, now is an ideal time to introduce your children to these fierce phenomena. Already, the incomplete 2011 tornado season has set many records. As of today, it is the ninth deadliest tornado year on record. Sunday’s tornado in Joplin, Missouri, is the second deadliest single tornado in the NOAA-NWS Official record that dates back to 1950. The fourth deadliest single day in tornado history was April 27, 2011.
In addition to emergency preparation, this is an excellent opportunity to teach your children the science behind tornadoes.
Tornadoes are columns of air made from fast-moving wind. These storms can achieve wind speeds of 300 miles per hour. Typically formed during thunderstorms, tornadoes are caused by instability in the atmosphere, when a downward flow of cold air meets a rising flow of warm air.
Tornadoes can range in severity from ‘F0’ to a ‘F5’ on the Fujita-Pearson scale, with each category representing a different amount of speed and damage.
F0 | 40 – 72 mile per hour winds cause light damage, such as breaking limbs from trees. |
F1 | 73 – 112 mile per hour winds snap trees and damage roofs. |
F2 | 113 – 157 mile per hour winds demolish mobile homes, uproot trees, etc. |
F3 | 158 – 206 mile per hour winds overturn trains and lift cars. |
F4 | 207 – 260 mile per hour winds level homes into debris and throw cars several hundred yards. |
F5 | 261 – 318 mile per hour winds blow away homes and throw vehicles like missiles. |
Tornado in a Bottle
Create a tornado in a bottle. Fill one two liter bottle halfway with water. Remove the cap from a second two liter bottle and set it on top so that the openings connect. Tape the bottles together with generous amounts of tape. Turn them over so that the bottle with the water is on top, and swirl the bottle to create a tornado inside the bottle.
Use a stopwatch to time the water as it drains into the lower bottle through the tornado. Flip the bottles over again and record the time it takes the water to drain without creating a vortex. Notice that the water drains into the lower bottle much faster after the vortex, or tornado, is created. This is because the hole in the center of the vortex allows air to come up into the upper bottle. This allows the water and air to move simultaneously.
Get Involved
One of the biggest benefits to homeschooling is the ability to get involved and ‘humanize’ the curriculum. You don’t just have to study tornadoes—you can make a difference.
Teach your children about the ongoing damage and suffering caused by this year’s tornado season. Share stories and news pieces of the damage. Share pictures and videos as you deem appropriate, based on the child’s age and maturity level.
Decide today to make a difference and teach your children compassion, something more valuable than science and current events. I encourage everyone who is able to donate to the relief effort through the American Red Cross (https://american.redcross.org/site/Donation2?df_id=5110&5110.donation=form1&s_src=RSG00000E000&s_subsrc=stateofmissouri-pub). The minimum acceptable donation amount is $10.
Officials have estimated that $15 will buy one family clean-up kit. $60 will provide sanitary kits for four victims. $80 offers a night in a hotel for a displaced victim. $115 buys one week’s groceries for a family of four. A very generous $500 gift will provide a disaster victim with medical supplies, equipment, medication and mental health counseling.
Please know that Homeschool Skills does not have any involvement with and does not recieve profit from the gathering of donations by the Red Cross.
