A Guide to Nature’s Deadliest Force: Everything You Need to Know About Tornadoes

11 min readMar 27, 2022

I’m sharing my experience with nature’s most powerful force of destruction. If you don’t know what that is, it’s TORNADOES!

Ultimately, I want people to take weather alerts more seriously and learn how to protect themselves in case of a tornado warning. Despite its length, I hope my story reminds people how the weather can change rapidly, and mother nature is nothing to ignore. But, if you have the time to read all the way through, please enjoy!

Now, Let’s start, shall we?

A Personal Story on Western Kentucky Tornadoes

December 10, 2021

I will never forget the night a deadly EF-4 tornado ripped through the western area of Kentucky that I call home. For 30 years, I lived in Western Kentucky and had never witnessed a storm this bad!

My hometown didn’t take a hit from this tornado, it was however 20 minutes north of us and a weaker tornado hit less than 30 minutes away south of us. Still, it was not a pretty storm as we experience intense lightning, strong wind gusts, and large hail.

Three weeks later, my town took a direct hit of an EF2- tornado on New Year’s Day. (Which was an extremely odd day for a twister to happen on 😬!)

Before the tornado hit, my family was doing their daily routine after breakfast. Then, around 8:45 A.M., I set out my yoga mat to start my practice.

At this point, I noticed it was pitch black outside. Of course, this was strange as it was morning time and not too long ago, the sun was shining bright.

Also, my area was not under any severe warnings at the time. So, I ignored the darkness and decided to light a candle to finish my yoga practice. Hugh mistake😩!

At exactly 9:02 A.M., my son and his dad came running into the living room. The lights started flickering, and we all decided to look outside to see what was going on. At that moment, we witness trash cans, roof shingles, and tree branches flying high into the friendly skies.

As my partner struggles to keep the side door shut, my brain finally grasps what’s going on. It’s a tornado😱!

I rush to tell all four of my children what’s going on and go to the hallway. As we sat waiting for destruction, I anxiously searched on my phone for any tornado warnings for my area.

There were none! Five minutes later, we heard a tornado siren, yet there was no warning on my phone about what was going on. The local news channel wasn’t even telling us to take cover, and it had my anxiety levels sky-high.

Shaking and crying, my 4-year-old asks me, “Is a tornado coming?” Honestly, I didn’t know. However, what I saw did not come from just wind gusts.

After everything calm down, we heard police sirens rushing past our home and heading downtown. Then, a few minutes later, we learned there was a tornado that hit less than two blocks away from our house.

Now my storm anxiety has peaked, and it’s worse than when I was a little girl. As a child, I lived in a trailer, and while I was naturally afraid of tornados, I was fascinated by them.

As a holistic health writer, I like to write on topics that interest me and may help someone who reads them. So without further ado, here is your complete guide to tornadoes and how you can prepare yourself when your area is under a tornado warning.

What Exactly Is a Tornado?

It is essential to learn about tornadoes before you can protect yourself. Also, once you learn about them, you will feel less frightened.

So, what is a tornado?

A tornado is a rotating column of air that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground at high speeds. Tornadoes don’t always appear as the perfectly narrow cloud formations from the sky as you see on TV.

Instead, a tornado can come in many shapes, sizes, and colors. They can also be invisible to the naked eye; the only sign you’ll see is floating debris in the sky.

Because wind is invisible, we cannot see it unless we see tree branches swaying. As a result, it may be hard to detect a tornado until its condensation funnel appears.

Most Notable Tornadoes

Among all the atmospheric storms on Earth, tornadoes are the most violent! Moreover, the impact of tornadoes remains longer than any other storm system.

They are often talked about for years after the damage. For example, the Tri-state tornado in 1925 pops up in discussions of tornado outbreaks. But, of course, for a good reason, as it did horrific damage to the United States.

The 2011 Super Outbreak that created the monstrous EF-5 Joplin tornado is still a hot subject. I remember this outbreak!

I was standing outside watching a wall cloud pass over my house during my pregnancy with my oldest child. We were still living in my parents’ trailer. Luckily my water didn’t break on that day😅!

Below are other notable tornadoes:

2013 El Reno Tornado
2013 Moore Tornado
1974 Super Outbreak
Palm Sunday 1965 Super Outbreak

Sadly, the 2021 Western Kentucky tornado is now part of the list. The Mayfield tornado breaks my heart every time I read something about it, as it was so close to home for me.

How You Can Help 2021 Western Kentucky Tornado Victims

The violent tornado destroyed so many homes and changed many people’s lives. If you’re interested in helping these people, below are the following ways you can:

Kentucky Red Cross
You can donate online here
You can donate or find out more about how to help tornado victims by calling 1–800–435–7660.
Donate to the Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund in the following ways.
You can also contribute to verified community GoFundMe accounts.

The ingredients for the storm were so rare and formed this beast of a tornado. It’s hard to recover when you lost everything you had and have no clue how you’re going to rebuild.

But, as a community, we can come together to help those affected during the rebuilding process. Oh, if anyone else knows how we can help these people, please let me know so I can update the list.

Interesting Tornado Facts Good for You to Know

As I mentioned above, it’s good to learn as much as you can about tornadoes, so I included some tornado facts. At the bottom of the post, you find tornado resources, including YouTube channels and other websites.

What Causes a Tornado?

During a thunderstorm, specific ingredients in the sky cause tornadoes to form. As thunderstorms become supercells, the wind speed changes direction at different altitudes, causing “wind shear.”

The wind shear can often be harmless, but it can spin the air currents and create an air tube in the atmosphere. This horizontal air tube is then pulled upwards by storms, creating a mesocyclone.

When air tubes spin closer to the ground, there is a higher likelihood of tornado formation. But, of course, there are more technical ingredients than this to form a tornado.

Now let’s discuss the wind closer to the ground level. Warm air rises high in the sky, and cool air sinks closer to the ground, which causes it to blow across the land.

When enough rising and sinking gusts near the ground, the air begins to spin. Once the air starts turning vertically, a tornado forms. The monster will pick up debris, dust, and anything else across its path.

How Long Do Tornadoes Last?

Most tornadoes are short-lived and last under ten minutes. These short-lived tornadoes are often an EF 0–1 status on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. But, don’t be fooled, as these brief spin-up tornadoes can still do massive damage!

Of course, the strongest and most violent tornadoes can stay on the ground for hours. If you are wondering what is the longest-lived tornado?

We don’t know!

But, many believe it’s the Tri-State tornado. Although, this is hard to prove as the tornado could’ve dispatched and reformed during the storm.

What Are the 5 Warning Signs of a Tornado?

Sometimes you can not always depend on the weather channel to let you know it’s a tornado on the ground. (I found this out the hard way!) So, it’s a good idea for you to learn the signs that a tornado is about to form near you.

Sometimes you can tell severe weather will happen days before it does. For example, in December 2021, it was strangely warm in Kentucky.

Yes, our weather is weird, but we hardly have 70 degrees sunny weather weeks before Christmas. Also, the wind was strong and quite breezy a few days before Dec 10.

Tornadic weather might affect your area when you see these two signs. Below is what you should look for in the sky when a tornado is near:

A dark low cloud rotating
The sky is turning a greenish color
Hail falling from the sky with no rain
Wind dying down, and the air becomes still
There is a cloud of debris approaching, even if there is no funnel visible

You definitely know a tornado is near when you hear a sound of a freight train. So, if you see any of these signs or hear the sound of a freight train, get to your safe spot fast and take cover.

Why Is It Quiet Before a Tornado?

Before a tornado hits, there is an eerie stillness and calmness to the air. It’s the calm before the storm, and it can be heart-dropping to notice this. When it happens in your mind, you’ll wonder what’s going on, and everything is flying to the sky out of nowhere.

But, why does this happen?

A supercell thunderstorm’s structure and movement influence the quiet before a tornado forms. “Generally,” the areas affected by tornadoes will experience the part of the storm further from the core first.

In these storms, lightning will frequently strike, strong winds will blow, heavy rainfall and hail will fall. (This was how the storm was for my area when the tornado hit on Dec 10th, 2021.)

As the storm moves northeast, the affected area will be in the inflow, which is usually rain-free. The sun might peek through behind the clouds if the storm happens during the day hours, which might lead you to believe the storm is over. (This happened with Hopkinsville’s New Year’s Day tornado.)

During this time, if you are looking at the radar, you will see the supercell thunderstorm forming a “hook” shape on the southwest side. In the hook, the tornado typically resides and is what can affect an area after the inflow passes. The contrast between the storm’s core and the calmer inflow region may be what causes the silence before tornadoes.

Tornado Watch vs. Tornado Warning: What’s the Difference?

A tornado watch means the weather conditions are favorable for producing a tornado. You need to go over your safety plan with your family during this time. Discuss what they need to do and where they need to go if the weather condition gets worst.

A tornado warning is issued when a tornado has been spotted on the ground or the radars. In this case, it’s time for you to seek shelter immediately! There are also times when a tornado emergency may be issued.

The National Weather Service will declare an emergency during impending intense tornado danger. For example, before the Mayfield tornado hit, the weather service issued a tornado emergency.

Is Tornado Alley Shifting?

After the tornado in western Kentucky, many people worry that “tornado alley” is shifting more towards the southeast area of the country. It could be, and global warming may be making tornadoes form more and be more violent.

I don’t know as I’m not a scientist, and also, scientists are not for sure either. But, what I do know is tornadoes are pretty common in the south and have been for years. Tornadoes can form anywhere in the world as long as the conditions are favorable.

The warm air from the Gulf of Mexico makes tornadoes more common in the south during the winter months. Also, if you didn’t know, the south technically has two tornadoes seasons: spring and fall. So, lucky us who live in the south😅!

Can You Survive a Tornado?

Yes, you can survive a tornado, and the best way to do so is to be prepared before it hits. This means having a plan on what to do before severe weather happens in your area.

Now, let’s go over what needs to be in your tornado safety plan. First, you should buy helmets and put them in your shelter. Next, you need to get bags ready for everyone in your home. All your family members should have these items in their bags:

First aid kits
Water
Extra Clothing
Flashlights
Walkie Talkie

Next, include your safe spot in your plan. For example, if you have a basement, you’re in luck, and make sure there’s a heavy table or structure you can get under.

If you do not have a cellar, make the interior hallway or bathroom your safe spot. Also, if you live in a mobile home, seek shelter else. It’s known even the weakest EF0 or EF1 tornadoes can do massive damage to these buildings.

If you have the funds, consider investing in an underground tornado shelter. Storm shelters offer more protection, especially against tornadoes of EF2-EF5 status.

What to Do if You Have Tornado Anxiety?

You might notice I have tornado anxiety. After my last two experiences of serve weather, I don’t want to risk any more chances of being caught off guard.

Don’t let the fear of tornadoes ruin your life if you’re the same. Instead, remember to stay prepared and pay attention to the weather. By doing so, you will decrease your anxiety levels and enhance your chances of survival.

Are There Any Benefits to Tornadoes?

I’ve done my research on this question and surprisingly tornadoes do have a benefit to the environment. As a result of all of the heavy rainfall associated with tornadic weather, it can be helpful in regions without rain for a while.

Due to the strong winds carrying different items for miles, it certainly contributes to the massive flower pollination. Bees and other insects can only do so much, so in some way, tornadoes help with pollination.

Tornadoes also help clear out old vegetation that might take a while for humans to do by themselves. With the old vegetation blown away, the new vegetation can spring up quicker.

The last benefit of tornadoes I can find is it helps communities come closer. If you notice after a deadly tornado strikes a community everyone comes together to help out. It’s sad that it happens this way, but the only way to rebuild is to lend a helping hand.

Tornado Resources

Here are the resources I gather to help you understand tornadoes more or can at least stay updated to alerts in your area.

YouTubers to watch who cover severe weather:

This YouTuber does a great job of breaking weather terminology down:

Peco Hanks

Resouce to help your child understand tornadoes:

Resources after a tornado hits:

If you know of any other resources please let me know so I can update the list! Remember to stay safe when severe weather breaks in your area. Also, I know tornadoes are fascinating but don’t stand there and record when it is heading your way. STAY SAFE!