Earth ans Space Sciences (Meterology) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Earth ans Space Sciences (Meterology) - Essay Example The Joplin Tornado is considered to be the most severe tornado in history of United States since 1953 (Storm Prediction Center, 2011) as the optimum wind velocity was about 200 mile per hour that created an enormous damage in Missouri. The death toll was 162 which topped the number of causalities produced by a tornado of 1953 in Flint, Michigan in which 115 people were died; however, death toll remained less than a tornado of 1947 in Woodland, Okalahoma, when 181 people were killed. A well advanced tornado warning was issued by the local meteorological office as well as special updated were released by National Weather Service. A great coordination between meteorological and administrative agencies enabled the general public in advance to take necessary safety measures and thus saved many lives. However, despite of taking all the measures, tornado was strengthened enough that it not only produced tremendous loss of infrastructure but also caused 162 human fatalities and moderate to s evere injuries to more than 1000 people (Reuters, 14 Sep, 2011). This paper explains several aspects of Joplin Tornado which include the synopsis of the incident with the help of real-time dealing with of the event, loss of human life and damage to businesses and properties, and some statistics as well. At the end, few points are suggested for forecasters to improve their forecast related to any such occurrence in future. 2. Joplin Tornado Synopsis A tornado is defined as â€Å"a rotating column of air ranging in width from a few yards to more than a mile and whirling at destructively high speeds, usually accompanied by a funnel-shaped downward extension of a cumulonimbus cloud† (http://www.the freedictionary.com). Tornadoes appear in a number of sizes and shapes; however they are often in the style of an observable condensation funnel, as their thin end meets the ground and are oftentimes surrounded by clouds containing waste and dust particles. The majority of tornadoes pos sess violent winds having speed not less than 110 miles per hour, however, a lot of severe tornadoes can gain the wind velocities greater than 300 miles per hour with an extension of width well over two miles around, and remain to the earth for a great deal of about more than 100 miles in length (Edwards, 2006). The strength of a tornado is ranked by Enhanced Fujita Scale which consists of six categories depending upon the wind speed. The key statistics that Joplin tornado produced are shown in tabular form below. Maximum EF-Scale   EF- 5 Maximum Wind Speed (Estimated)   In Excess of  200 mph Path Length   22.1  Ã‚  Miles Path Width   3/4 to 1 Mile Fatalities   162 Injuries 1000+ Start Time   1734 PM End Time   1812 PM Approximate Beginning Pt. 1/2 mile SW of the intersection of JJ HWY   & and west 32nd street (Newton Road) Approximate Ending Pt. 4.8 mi. NNE of Granby, Missouri (Source: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/sgf/?n=event_2011may22_survey) Joplin, Missouri exper ienced one of the most deadly tornados of the history of United States on 22nd May, 2011. The first three weeks of May, 2011 were significantly quiet as only few and isolated tornados took place, however, by the combined effect of an intensified low pressure area and dry line changed the pressure