Do you know the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning?
A tornado watch means tornadoes are possible in an area and a tornado warning means a tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar.
If you live in an area that is under the tornado watch you should take time to review your emergency plans and be ready to act quickly if a warning is issued or if you spot a tornado.
Tornado watches are issued by the Storm Prediction Center for counties where tornadoes may occur. The watch area is usually a large area that covers numerous counties or even states.
If a tornado warning is issued in your area that means a tornado has been spotted or indicated by weather radar. You should immediately move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building and avoid windows.
Tornado warnings are issued by local forecast offices for the National Weather Service. Warning areas are much smaller than watch areas and are usually just the size of a city or small county.
What is a tornado?
The National Weather Service describes a tornado as a “violently rotating column of air extending from the base of a thunderstorm down to the ground.”
Tornadoes usually only last a few minutes, but they are capable of destroying homes, buildings and other structures, uprooting trees, and hurling objects through the air.
Tornadoes can happen at any time of day or night and any time of the year. According to the NOAA, more than 1,200 tornadoes hit the United States each year. Most come from “supercell thunderstorms.”
A tornado tore through Downtown Dundee in Monroe County last week. The tornado damaged historic buildings but there were no reports of injuries.
An EF-3 tornado killed at least two people and injured at least 44 in Gaylord on May 20, 2022.
Read: The Great Tornado Outbreak of 1997, when 13 twisters hit SE Michigan