“Tornado Alert,” by Wendy Scavuzzo
Crabtree Publishing Company, New York, 2004, 32 pages, Grades 4-6.
Tornadoes are the most violent storms in nature. They arrive with devastating power and destruction. Until recently, tornadoes could not really be predicted and usually fell on towns and cities with little warning. Fortunately, scientific advances have lessened but not entirely eliminated this problem.
The photographs and recordings of tornadoes are both striking and harrowing. Wendy Scavuzzo has written an excellent book on storms entitled “Tornado Alert.”
Tornadoes are frequently called twisters. There are many reasons for this. First, tornadoes many times touch down and then turn in many directions. Second, they leave behind a twisted path of destruction. Finally, the spinning funnel clouds appear to be twisting. This spinning is what causes the massive destructive capability of tornadoes. Tornadoes have been registered to spin at the speed of 318 miles per hour. Very few buildings can survive the direct power of tornadoes.
What causes tornadoes? First, warm air begins to rise in a cloud. Second, the warm air collides with colder air within the cloud. Next, the air begins to fall and rise within the cloud. Then rain begins to form in the cloud. Downdrafts begin to sink, accompanied by lightning, forming the supercell storm. The final part is when the downdrafts of air form a funnel cloud that drops down to land. This is when the tornado sirens begin warning everyone to take shelter.
With the invention of Doppler Radar, meteorologists can see these supercell storms building and warn communities in the path of the potential twisters. The author points out the many scientists and researchers who try to warn us and teach us about tornadoes. The most famous are the storm chasers. These intrepid souls actually try to get near the twisters to photograph and measure their strength. Storm chasers are usually in great danger as tornadoes can suddenly change directions and bear down on them.
Certain tornadoes have caused so much damage and death that they became part of history. In 1925 the Tri-State Tornado was on the ground for three and half hours, killing 695 people over a 219-mile swatch of destruction. Recently, massive tornadoes have struck cities in Oklahoma and virtually destroyed large sections of the city of Joplin, Mo. The American Midwest holds the dubious distinction of being in “Tornado Alley.” The reason for this is that the geography and weather conditions in the Midwest are conducive to the development of tornadoes. Scavuzzo includes numerous photographs of famous twisters in this fine book.
What would you like to learn about tornadoes? Have you ever seen a funnel cloud? Why does the sky often turn green when tornadoes touch down? What can you do to protect yourself? What is the Fujita Scale? To find out the answers to these and other questions, go to the library and check out “Tornado Alert” by Wendy Scavuzzo.
This book would be very useful for a science class in the upper primary grades. It could be used very effectively in a group setting because the text has a number of technical terms that might not be familiar to all readers. The photographs are very compelling and will hold the interest of students. Older family members can share this book with the younger members of the family as well.
Tornadoes hold a fascination for many people and Scavuzzo does a good job telling the many facets of these storms. I hope you get a chance to read it.
