• Tornadoes are violently rotating columns of air extending from
  severe thunderstorms to the ground.
• Tornadoes usually are preceded by very heavy rain and possibly
  hail. If hail falls from a thunderstorm, it is an indication that the
  storm has large amounts of energy and may be severe. In
  general, the larger the hailstones, the more potential for
  damaging thunderstorm winds and/or tornadoes.
• The most violent tornadoes are capable of tremendous
  destruction, with wind speeds of 250 m.p.h. or more.
• An average tornado damage path is one to two miles long, but
  can be in excess of one mile wide and 50 miles long.
• Widths vary considerably during a single tornado, from less than
  ten yards to more than a mile, but typically are about 50 yards
  wide.
• The average tornado moves from southwest to northeast,
  though tornadoes have been known to move in any direction.
• The average forward speed of a tornado is 30 m.p.h. but may
  vary from nearly stationary to 70 m.p.h.
• Tornadoes can occur throughout the year; however, the peak
  season in North Carolina is March through May.
• Tornadoes are most likely to occur between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.,
  but have been known to occur at all hours of the day or night.
• National Weather Service (NWS) Offices in Raleigh, Morehead
  City, and Wilmington, NC; Blacksburg and Wakefield, VA;
  Greenville-Spartanburg, SC; and Morristown, TN, provide
  warnings for North Carolina.
• The NWS is now using Doppler weather radar to sense the air
  movement within thunderstorms. Early detection of increasing
  rotation aloft within a thunderstorm can allow time for lifesaving
  warnings before the tornado forms.

Education & Emergency Information Section, North Carolina Emergency Management Division
4713 Mail Service Center,
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-4713
On the web at www.ncem.org

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