Colorado Tornadoes

In honor of Severe Weather Awareness Week, you might look back at yesterday's post about lightning, and today we move on to tornadoes in our state.

Since we're on the western edge of "Tornado Alley", It's no surprise that we get our share in Colorado.

Over the long term, we average 25 per year, with Weld county holding the "distinction" of being blasted by more tornadoes (between 1950 and 2006) than any other county in the nation (which, of course, makes it #1 in Colorado). Adams county is number 2 in the state.

Tornado intensity is rated on the Enhanced Fujita scale, named after Dr. Ted Fujita of the University of Chicago. The ratings are based on the damage created by the storm.

FUJITA SCALE			DERIVED EF SCALE		OPERATIONAL EF SCALE
F Number	Fastest 1/4-mile (mph)	3 Second Gust (mph)	EF Number	3 Second Gust (mph)	EF Number	3 Second Gust (mph)
0	40-72	45-78	0	65-85	0	65-85
1	73-112	79-117	1	86-109	1	86-110
2	113-157	118-161	2	110-137	2	111-135
3	158-207	162-209	3	138-167	3	136-165
4	208-260	210-261	4	168-199	4	166-200
5	261-318	262-317	5	200-234	5	Over 200

As you can see, the scale runs from F0 to F5, and in the Pikes Peak Region, many of the storms we experience are in the F0 category (fortunately).

The greatest threat for tornadoes occurs during the late Spring and early Summer, when there's lots of water in the air, and temperatures are warm enough to boil up severe thunderstorms. (Tornadoes develop from these storms with damaging wind and hail). Statistically, June is the most active month, but whenever conditions are right, they can spin up.

When a TORNADO WATCH is issued, it means that a tornado is possible...keep your eyes and ears open.
A WARNING means it is imminent or occurring. You'll find a great set of safety tips at
http://www.tornadoproject.com/safety/safety.htm.

Even this early in the season, we've already had 2 tornado warnings (one for eastern El Paso county and another for Prowers and Kiowa counties), so it's time to make some plans.