Tornado Image Gallery

Click on images for full size.

A tornado found in Oklahoma on May 22, 1981 where the dust and debris cloud can be seen forming at the surface.
Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)
This tornado is in its later stage and was captured in Seymour, Texas on April 10, 1979.
Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)
On June 2, 1995, this tornado showed up just south of Dimmitt, Texas.
Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)
Alfalfa, Oklahoma saw this tornado on May 22, 1981.
Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)
This tornado, from May 3, 1999, formed from the old part of a thunderstorm system while the new part was being formed. This is called an occluded tornado. It was spotted seven miles south of Anadarko, Oklahoma.
Courtesy of OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)
This photo of a tornado in its early stage of formation was taken in Union City, Oklahoma on May 24, 1973.
Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)
A different shot of the tornado from Union City in its early stage of formation.
Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)
Here is the development of the previous photo as it shows the same tornado but in its later stage.
Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)
Friends and neighbors try to remove debris around the remains of a farmhouse after the tornado that hit Union City, Oklahoma on May 24th, 1973.
Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)
This is another shot of the damage caused by the tornado in Union City.
Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)
Tornadoes can form over water as well as land. When they form over water, it is called a waterspout. Key West, FL had a waterspout form on July 17, 2002.
Courtesy of National Weather Service Forecast Office of Key West/ Brandon Bolinski
A tornado that was traveling over the open ground of a farm in Carteret County, NC on June 7, 2004.
Courtesy of National Weather Service Forecast Office of Newport/Morehead City, NC
A weak tornado that was seen in Southeast Colorado.
Courtesy of University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Photo by Linda Lusk
Damage to the roof of this condo was part of a weak (F0) tornado that swept through Cocoa Beach, Florida in February of 2008.
Courtesy of National Weather Service Forecast Office of Melbourne, FL
This home was damaged by a strong tornado (F3) that ripped through Deland, FL on February 2, 2007.
Courtesy of National Weather Service Forecast Office of Melbourne, FL

Tornado

Images and Multimedia on Windows to the Universe

Last modified July 24, 2008 by Vanessa Pearce.

You might also be interested in:

Ready, Set, SCIENCE!: Putting Research to Work in K-8 Science Classrooms

What types of instructional experiences help K-8 students learn science with understanding? What do science educators teachers, teacher leaders, science specialists, professional development staff, curriculum designers, school administrators need to know to create and support such experiences?...more

Tornadoes

Tornadoes form from severe thunderstorms. They have a very high energy density which means that they are very destructive to a small area. They also don't last very long which makes them hard to study....more

Wave Beats

Sound travels in waves. These waves have both a frequency and an amplitude. The frequency is measured in hertz, which is one wave cycle per second. A cycle is a repeated pattern of positive and negative...more

Chasing Tornadoes

Storms chasers are different than storm spotters. Chasers travel around Tornado Alley looking for severe storms and tornadoes. This area in the Great Plains is the best for chasing. Besides having a lot...more

Energy Density

A tornado is the most destructive force in nature; that doesn't mean it has the most energy. Thunderstorms which produce tornadoes can have 40,000 times as much energy as a tornado! Tornadoes are so destructive...more

The Doppler Effect

The Doppler effect was named after Christian Doppler, who first came up with the idea in 1842. He determined that the frequency of sound waves would change if either the source of the sound or the observer...more

Tornado Forecasts

The short duration and complicated nature of tornadoes make them nearly impossible forecast. Meteorologists don't really know the specifics of how they form, but they do know what atmospheric conditions...more

Common Tornado Myths

Scientists once thought that you should open your windows during a tornado so your house won't explode. The thinking behind this idea is that the extreme low pressure in a tornado would cause the air in...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA