On an average, five to six tropical cyclones form every year, of which two or three could be severe. More cyclones occur in the Bay of Bengal than the Arabian Sea and the ratio is approximately 4:1. Cyclones occur frequently on both the coasts (the West coast – Arabian Sea; and the East coast – Bay of Bengal).

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Overall, there were 22 named storms in the basin in 2020, which was slightly below the norm of 27. A total of 10 of the 22 storms became typhoons, a moderately lower than normal proportion.

Daulatpur–Saturia tornado

In reality, there is no such thing as an F6 tornado. When Dr. Fujita developed the F scale, he created a scale that ranges from F0 to F12, with estimated F12 winds up to mach 1 (the speed of sound).

Rope tornadoes Rope tornadoes are some of the smallest and most common types of tornadoes, getting their name from their rope-like appearance. Most tornadoes begin and end their life cycle as a rope tornado before growing into a larger twister or dissipating into thin air.

Notable F0 Tornadoes

• On May 24th, 1955, in Georgia, an F0 tornado killed three people.
• On May 1st, 1983, in Illinois, an F0 tornado killed two people.
• On August 9th, 1983, in Minnesota, an F0 tornado killed two people.

Though well-built structures are typically unscathed by EF0 tornadoes, falling trees and tree branches can injure and kill people, even inside a sturdy structure. EF1 damage: Cause major damage to mobile homes and automobiles, and can cause minor structural damage to well-constructed homes.

An EF5 tornado includes gusts of winds of over 200 mph, based on these updated damage assessments. And despite the horrific scenes of tornado destruction that have become all too familiar in Oklahoma, EF5 tornadoes are survivable — both for people and structures.

Alabama and Oklahoma lead the way with seven “5-rated” tornadoes, followed closely by Texas, Iowa and Kansas with six such tornadoes each. The most EF5/F5 tornadoes in a single year were in 1974 when the April 3 super outbreak spawned seven in a 24-hour period.

The top 10 worst states for tornadoes

• Texas had the most tornadoes in 2019, reporting 188 tornadoes.
• Oklahoma is another hard-hit state, with 99 reported tornadoes in 2019.
• Missouri had 98 tornadoes in 2019, nearly beating the state record of 102 in a single year, set in 2006.

The state with the most number of tornadoes classified as “violent”, or F4 and F5, is Kentucky, and the state with the highest average intensity ranking for tornadoes is Alabama.

The “greenage” or green color in storms does not mean a tornado is coming. The green color does signify the storm is severe though. The color is from the water droplets suspended in the storm, absorbing red sunlight and radiating green frequencies.

When we see a red sky at night, this means that the setting sun is sending its light through a high concentration of dust particles. This usually indicates high pressure and stable air coming in from the west.