Twister Devastates Southern Plains

By: Josh and Ryan

May 24, 2010

If your house was demolished by a tornado and all you could do was hide for safety, with a helpless feeling, and knowing that you would no longer have a house to stay, what would be going through your mind? Dozens of U.S. citizens woke up on May 10, thinking it would be just another ordinary day, when they got word of a tornado warning. With the people unprepared, the twister smashed into the fields of Kansas, and the small town of Norman, Oklahoma!

                Tornadoes are formed when there is a sudden increase in wind speed and a change of wind direction. Two different masses of temperature and humidity meet and rarely does a funnel form, which is the actual tornado. Tornadoes form a giant rotating thunderstorm, which is called a supercell. These are formed when cold air meets warm air. Lightning occurs and heavy rains and hail begin to fall to the ground. It’s fitting that this tornado occurred when it did because right now and last week when it occurred, is right in the middle of tornado season. Tornado season is early spring until mid-summer. Scientists are still researching tornadoes and how they are formed.

                This massive tornado that occurred in the small town of Norman, Oklahoma, was devastating to all the people who live in that area and they are still trying to recover, and rebuild their homes. They do not know the actual size of this tornado, but it was definitely a big one, with the powerful winds plowing through the fields of both Kansas and Oklahoma.