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07/24/2008 07:38 AM

 

Tornado Was Possible In Ellwood City July 24, 2008 ECO Staff -- Laure Cioffi, senior journalist ELLWOOD CITY -- National Weather Service officials say a tornado that touched down in Butler County was likely spotted in Ellwood City too. Rich Kane, warning coordinator meteorologist for the weather service, said a trained Skywarn spotter reported seeing a funnel cloud west of the Ellwood City Hospital just after 8 p.m. Tuesday. Skywarn spotters are volunteer members of the community trained by the National Weather Service to identify and describe severe storms. Kane said they were able to confirm a tornado in Prospect, Butler County, because a resident snapped a photograph. The funnel cloud apparently touched down in a heavily wooded area near Moraine State Park. Kane said the tornado was classified on the weakest end of the Fujita Scale, the system used to determine a storm's severity, at about 65 miles per hour. The tornado did not leave a discernable path in the woods near Moraine State Park, he added. According to Kane, the Doppler Radar readings from Tuesday night suggest that the storm was even stronger when it was near Ellwood City. "The storm was rotating better north of Ellwood City," Kane said. Kane noted it is possible a tornado did drop in the Ellwood City area, but if it did it was in a heavily wooded area since there were no reports of damage. (Laure Cioffi can be reached at laurecioffi@ellwoodcity.org) Tornado Warning Vs. A Tornado Watch? ECO Staff -- Eric Johnson, student journalist On Tuesday July 22nd, the national weather service advised a tornado warning for Lawrence County. A more common thing to see is a tornado watch for Lawrence County. What are the differences between a tornado warning and a tornado watch? A tornado watch means atmospheric conditions are ideal for the formation of tornado like activity but none have been sited. When the national weather service advises a tornado warning, it means storm conditions have produced one or more tornadoes in the area and that these tornadoes have been sited. Tornado comes from the Latin word Tonare which means, “to turn”. Characteristically tornadoes are violent whirling winds and funnel-shaped clouds from the cumulonimbus cloud. A tornado can be a few meters to about a kilometer wide where it touches the ground, with an average width of a few hundred meters. It can move over land for distances ranging from short hops to many kilometers, causing great damage wherever it descends. The funnel is made visible by the dust sucked up and by condensation of water droplets in the center of the funnel. The same condensation process makes visible the generally weaker sea-going tornadoes, called waterspouts, which occur most frequently in tropic waters. Most tornadoes spin counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern, but occasional tornadoes reverse this behavior. What causes these vicious nature beasts? Most tornadoes form from thunderstorms. You need warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and cool, dry air from Canada. When these two air masses meet, they create instability in the atmosphere. A change in wind direction and an increase in wind speed with increasing height creates an invisible, horizontal spinning effect in the lower atmosphere. Rising air within the updraft tilts the rotating air from horizontal to vertical. An area of rotation, 2-6 miles wide, now extends through much of the storm. To get a close-up model of a tornado you can follow these easy instructions. MATERIALS: · mayonnaise jar or a canning jar · clear liquid soap · vinegar · water PROCESS: Fill the jar about three-quarters full of water. Put a teaspoon of the liquid soap into the jar. Also, add a teaspoon of vinegar into the jar. Tighten the lid and shake the jar to mix up the ingredients. Now, swirl the jar in a circular motion. The liquid will form a small tornado. *If you want to get creative, you can also use food coloring to make the tornado have a color and glitter to represent debris EXPLANATION: The swirling motion you give the bottle forms a vortex and is a easy way to create your own tornado. (Eric Johnson can be reached at ericjohnson@ellwoodcity.org)