Orofarnëriel answered Tuesday November 1 2005, 11:53 am: If the sky is a funny yellowish-greenish colour, and there's a VERY large dark (nearly black) cloud that also goes up like a tower, and you swear to god you can see a swirl in it- that's the storm cell that can provide a tornado.
"A tornado is defined as a violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and pendent from a cumulonimbus cloud." So says the U of Illinois's website.
Also, and this is going to sound weird, but check the local animals and wildlife. They usually know if something's coming down. Use your instincts. When one hit around here, I woke up that day with an awful feeling that Something Was Going to Go Wrong that day, and it really just persisted until the storm hit. Luckily, I only ended up with hail and a broken window- but some were no so. Nobody died, though, so it's okay. [ Orofarnëriel's advice column | Ask Orofarnëriel A Question ]
karenR answered Monday October 31 2005, 8:45 pm: Funnels. I got a bunch of photos living in tornado country! I have no way to show them to you at the moment but I know where to find them.....:)
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