Twister Takes the Roof

About this drawing

A tornado ripping off roof shingles and boards shows just how strong spinning wind can be. Surprisingly, scientists usually cannot measure a tornado's winds directly, because most instruments in its path would be destroyed. Instead, they study the damage it leaves behind.

That is where the Enhanced Fujita scale comes in. It rates tornadoes from EF0 to EF5. An EF0 snaps branches and peels off a few shingles. A mid-range tornado can lift entire roofs and flip cars. The strongest tornadoes are rare, but they can wipe well-built homes right off their foundations.

After a tornado, National Weather Service teams walk the damage path, take photos and compare what they see with a checklist of examples like barns, trees, power poles and different kinds of houses. That evidence tells them how fast the winds must have been and what rating the tornado gets.

This simple page is a gentle way to ask young kids how they would feel if wind broke their home, why builders keep making houses stronger and how neighbors help each other clean up and rebuild. Talking it through helps kids turn worry into practical ideas.

• tornado
• wind
• natural disasters
• enhanced fujita scale
• weather