Severe Weather Awareness: Tornadoes and Thunderstorms

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The United States is a hotspot for tornadoes. The country has the most spin ups in the world with more than a thousand reported tornadoes on average each year.

The Sunshine State ranks in the top five for the number of tornadoes each year, averaging about 57.

Most tornadoes in Southwest Florida occur between May and August because of the frequency of thunderstorms. However, that doesn’t mean that tornadoes can’t develop outside of that time frame. 

There is a plethora of ways that a tornado can develop in Florida: strong cold fronts, waterspouts moving onshore, the outer bands of tropical cyclones and strong thunderstorms.

More than 90% of tornadoes that develop in South Florida are on the weaker end of the Enhanced Fujita Scale.

Credit: Floridadisater.org

Most are deemed an EF-0 or EF-1 which means winds are less than 110 miles per hour.

Tornadoes in these categories could lead to significant damage to mobile homes, uprooted trees and broken branches, downed power lines, roof damage and damage to patio enclosures.

Waterspouts may be over water, but they can still be dangerous and lead to damage to boaters and those directly along the coast. 

Credit: The Weather Authority

Severe thunderstorms are common in Southwest Florida.

A storm is considered severe if it has wind speeds of at least 58 miles per hour, and or large hail of at least one inch in diameter.

The storms typically happen between March to August.

Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Winds from severe thunderstorms can cause damage to trees, powerlines and structural damage to buildings. Large hail could damage crops and cars.  

Tornadoes and severe thunderstorms can be deadly, which emphasizes the need for access to weather warnings to maximize safety.

There are multiple ways to receive warnings: through your phone, watching your local weather broadcast, or owning a NOAA weather radio.

These warning systems save lives by alerting people to get into their safe places, especially for nighttime tornadoes when people are sleeping. 

When you are alerted to severe weather make sure to get into an interior room, preferably on the first floor.

You want to distance yourself as much as possible from the storms so stay away from windows and doors. 

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