June16,2011Vol.114.docVIP

June 16, 2011 Vol.114Jason W. Crockett Terrible Twisters On May 22 a massive tornado passed through the city of Joplin, Missouri, killing almost 150 people and leaving a trail of destruction six miles long. The Joplin tornado was rated an EF-5 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, the highest rating possible, with winds of more than 200 miles per hour. It was the latest one in a deadly series of tornadoes this spring. April witnessed more than 600 tornadoes, making it the most active month ever recorded, and close to 370 people died in storms that ranged from Oklahoma to Alabama to North Carolina. Tornadoes form at the edge of large thunderstorms when warm air meets cold air, which causes winds to blow in different directions and form swirling columns of wind that can be several miles wide. An EF-5 tornado, like the one that hit Joplin, carries enough strength to rip strong buildings from their foundations and carry them miles away. Predicting tornadoes is almost impossible, and most warnings rely on sightings by human spotters. Experts advise people to crouch as low as possible in a hallway with no windows or hide in a basement when a tornado approaches, but there is often little time for people to take cover. Although tornadoes can occur anywhere, the United States is the undisputed tornado capital of the world. Warm air from the Gulf of Mexico combines with cold air from Canada to form regions where tornado outbreaks are common, such as Tornado Alley, which is in the southern Great Plains, and Dixie Alley, which covers several Southern states. Changing weather patterns cause the number of tornadoes to differ from year to year. Some people have claimed that global warming is responsible for an increase in the total number of tornadoes reported over the last 50 years, but most scientists believe that this is due to more people living in tornado-prone areas. Rising death tolls are also a result of more people living in mobile homes, which are particularly vulnerable to