An Investigation Into the
Impacts of Tornadoes in Canada
Tornados
Introduction
Tornadoes are one of the most impressive and powerful forces of nature. They can strike quickly with little warning, and cause millions of dollars in damages and even death. It is these powerful impacts that have led to the fascination that storm chasers have with discovering the inner workings of tornadoes. The focus of this term paper will be to investigate the natural hazard known as tornadoes. It will follow the framework for Analysis of Human Adaptation to Natural Hazards. This will include biophysical dimensions of tornadoes, human use of the affected environment, a consideration of the environmental change caused by tornadoes, and the human response to tornadoes.
Although they are rarer and have smaller damage paths than other natural hazards, tornadoes represent a significant hazard because of their unpredictable and rapid onset of violent winds, reaching devastating levels within minutes. Tornadic thunderstorms are the most damaging type of weather faced by Canadians and are of great interest to the human population because of the major social, economic and environmental impacts they impose on our lives.
When you think of Canada, the thought of tornadoes as a natural hazard does not necessarily come to mind. Surprisingly, Canada experiences the second most tornadoes out of any other country in the world. It is interesting to note that the average number of tornadoes increases every year. Most tornadoes occur during the spring and summer months, with June and July having the highest frequency. Despite this pattern, there have been a few cases of tornadoes touching down around winter time. Tornadoes will usually develop in the mid-afternoon to early evening.
Tornadoes are essentially a whirlpool of converging opposites, where upwelling warm air confronts down tumbling cool air, dry air encounters moist, and winds aloft collide with winds below. In nature this produces torrential rains, dangerous lightning, hailstorms and winds
Tornadoes are one of the most impressive and powerful forces of nature. They can strike quickly with little warning, and cause millions of dollars in damages and even death. It is these powerful impacts that have led to the fascination that storm chasers have with discovering the inner workings of tornadoes. The focus of this term paper will be to investigate the natural hazard known as tornadoes. It will follow the framework for Analysis of Human Adaptation to Natural Hazards. This will include biophysical dimensions of tornadoes, human use of the affected environment, a consideration of the environmental change caused by tornadoes, and the human response to tornadoes.
Although they are rarer and have smaller damage paths than other natural hazards, tornadoes represent a significant hazard because of their unpredictable and rapid onset of violent winds, reaching devastating levels within minutes. Tornadic thunderstorms are the most damaging type of weather faced by Canadians and are of great interest to the human population because of the major social, economic and environmental impacts they impose on our lives.
When you think of Canada, the thought of tornadoes as a natural hazard does not necessarily come to mind. Surprisingly, Canada experiences the second most tornadoes out of any other country in the world. It is interesting to note that the average number of tornadoes increases every year. Most tornadoes occur during the spring and summer months, with June and July having the highest frequency. Despite this pattern, there have been a few cases of tornadoes touching down around winter time. Tornadoes will usually develop in the mid-afternoon to early evening.
Tornadoes are essentially a whirlpool of converging opposites, where upwelling warm air confronts down tumbling cool air, dry air encounters moist, and winds aloft collide with winds below. In nature this produces torrential rains, dangerous lightning, hailstorms and winds
References: 9