Mel's Columbia, SC Blog: Tornado Information for South Carolina

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Tornado Information for South Carolina

Our tornado risk in central South Carolina overall is relatively low, but, we do have tornado possibility. Here is information you may find useful for safety purposes:

A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. In the United States, tornadoes are around 500 feet (150 m) across on average and stay on the ground for 5 miles (8.0 km). Yet, there is a wide range of tornado sizes.
TORNADO WATCH - Issued when conditions are right for a tornado to form.
TORNADO WARNING - issued by government weather services to warn that severe thunderstorms with tornadoes may be imminent.