Illustrated tornado from the book The Wizard of Oz
© W. R. Wright, Piglet Press Inc. (www.halcyon.com/piglet/)

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Current severe weather watches and warnings for the continental U. S.

Tornado Notification

Tornadoes are very dangerous. This is why it's important to know when they are going to form. Forecastors at the National Weather Service are always looking for storms that could pop up. Nobody knows exactly how tornadoes form, but they do know what conditions they need in order to form. When the conditions are right for tornadoes, forecastors issue a tornado watch.

Forecastors will issue a tornado warning when they know a tornado is forming or has already formed. They train tornado spotters to go out and look for tornadoes. If a spotter sees a tornado, the Weather Service will issue a warning. Another tool meteorologists have for forecasting tornadoes is radar. The may issue a warning based on the radar picture if a tornado looks like it's starting.

You can hear about a warning different ways. Most cities have tornado sirens that go off if there's a warning. Also, you will hear about warnings on television or radio.

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