Product Description

The most far-ranging and complete book ever written on tornados. Provides information on the most destructive tornados in every state. (also in 200 other countries)

---

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #234306 in Books
• Published on: 2003-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

From Publishers Weekly
What causes tornadoes? How accurately can they be predicted? How large can they grow? The University of Oklahoma Press indulges the curiosity of those fascinated by these whirling scourges in two books. In The Tornado: Nature's Ultimate Windstorm, meteorologist Thomas P. Grazulis authoritatively conveys the science and thrill of tornadoes. His stories of "storm-chasing" and stats about "Individual Tornadoes Causing $200 Million or More in 1999 Inflation-Adjusted Damage" lend weight and immediacy to his accessible book.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author
Director of the Tornado Project and Fellow of the American Meteorological Society.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
"At about 4:25 P.M. on June 9 [1953], fishermen on the north end of the Quabbin Reservoir in western Massachusetts watched as an unusual boiling and tumbling cloud took the form of an enormous, revolving cylinder. Minutes later the end of the cylinder reached down like an enormous finger and trees began to snap in the woods of Petersham. . . . For the next eighty-four minutes, that funnel would cut a damage swath of unprecedented size and intensity in the northeastern United States.

People died in the open, in cars, in lakes, and under homes in what would be called the Worcester tornado. It lifted and carried tons of debris eastward; tar paper, shingles, sheet metal, and plywood rained down onto two dozen towns in eastern Massachusetts. . . . Photographs and a piece of waterlogged, frozen mattress were found floating in the Atlantic Ocean. Trousers with a wallet were taken from the second floor of a home in Shrewsbury and dropped in Westwood, 25 miles east-southeast. . . . A Social Security card was returned to its owner from Hyannis on Cape Cod, 90 miles southeast of Worcester."--from the Preface

---

Customer Reviews

A Great Book On The Basics Of Tornadoes
Written primarily for the layperson, The Tornado: Nature's Ultimate Windstorm won't disappoint you if you're curious about the most enigmatic of atmospheric phenomenon. Grazulis is well known for his historical tornado data work (and has done a stellar job of it too) and has taken much of his knowledge, put it into this book, and made it accessible for the non-scientist. People like myself who are knowledgeable in the atmospheric sciences may find the book a bit basic, but we're not the target audience. Regardless of your knowledge, this book is an attractive read. In the light of the revision of the old Fujita scale of tornado intensity, I'd like to see a revised edition published.

Tornado facts and future directions
For a relatively small number of Americans each year a tornado will threaten life and result in a life-changing loss of possessions and property. A greater number will observe the phenomenon but, as luck would have it, remain scared but unscathed. However to the vast majority a tornado is nothing more than a compelling news item on television which highlights the casualties, personal losses and structural damage. This is reinforced by the compulsory 30 second sound bite by someone who has lost everything but survived and another who lived nearby but remains intact. The video from the chasers is breath taking but accompanied by the standard script of 'Oh my god...Oh my god...guys...Holey crap...guys...'

As I write this (May 2008) the tornados currently in Oklahoma have all of these elements. So far this year America has had 103 tornado deaths and this is alarming.

Grazulis has written with a wonderful balance of narrative and scientific text. A reader is drawn through the chapters and will come away better informed on tornados, their cause, observation, classification, magnitude and probability. The relatively small probability of any one person or any one building being struck in any year seems to be a risk acceptable to this conditioned society and to the insurance industry. The declining trend in the number of fatalities is attributed to improving meteorology, warning systems and improving design of structures. There is however a hint those tornados could become more frequent and severe with climate change.

Tornados are now better understood because of Grazulis.

Perhaps the book will be the catalyst that motivates scientists, engineers, architects and urban planners to come together to build improved structures and communities so as to better resist the destructive forces of tornados. Otherwise it seems that society will continue to believe that a tornado is an irresistible force. I promote the idea of engineering-out the likelihood of devastating loss. Perhaps we can diminish the likelihood of Americans following Dorothy and Toto to the Land of Oz.

Worth the read and packed with understandable info
I wanted a book for by granddaughter who is 10 and who had expressed an interested in tornadoes. It was, perhaps, a little above her level, however it can be read in parts. I ended up reading the entire thing before I could let go of it to send it on. Puts the tornado,the incidence of seeing one, and the likelihood of experiencing damage all into perspective. Knocks down the myths of tornadoes, when, where and what they strike. A must for any library on meteorology. Sufficient statistics and hard science to satisfy even the already knowledgeable storm chaser.