Tornado outbreak

A tornado outbreak is the occurrence of multiple tornadoes spawned by the same synoptic scale weather system. The number of tornadoes required to qualify as an outbreak typically are at least six to ten.

The tornadoes usually occur within the same day, or continue into the early morning hours of the succeeding day, and within the same region. Most definitions allow for a break in tornado activity (time elapsed from the end of last tornado to the beginning of next tornado) of six hours. If tornado activity indeed resumes after such a lull, many definitions consider the event to be a new outbreak. A series of continuous or nearly continuous tornado outbreak days is a tornado outbreak sequence. Tornado outbreaks usually occur from March through June in the Great Plains of the United States and Canada, the Midwestern United States, and the Southeastern United States in an area colloquially referred to as Tornado Alley. Tornado outbreaks do occur during other times of the year and in other parts of the world, however. A secondary less active and annually inconsistent tornado "season" in the U.S. occurs in late autumn.

Tornado Outbreak

Tornado Outbreak (formerly known as Zephyr: Rise of the Elementals) is an action video game published by Konami and developed by Loose Cannon Studios for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and the Wii. This game was announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo on June 2009. "Harness the power of a raging tornado as you tear through open environments, chewing up the landscape and spitting out everything in your path. Tornado Outbreak's revolutionary new game mechanic puts some of the Earth's most powerful elements in your hands. The game has 10 levels. Co-op mode lets the player take control of Zephyr and a Wind Warrior and each player gets their own tornado. Mike Vaughn is the voice of Zephyr and Lev Liberman is the voice of Stone Smasher, Nimbus and the Wind Warriors.

Reception

The game got moderate to good reviews. Gamespot gave it 6.5 out of 10,GameInformer game it 6.75 out of 10, and IGN gave it 8.1 out of 10.

References

Tornado

A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as twisters or cyclones, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology, in a wider sense, to name any closed low pressure circulation. Tornadoes come in many shapes and sizes, but they are typically in the form of a visible condensation funnel, whose narrow end touches the earth and is often encircled by a cloud of debris and dust. Most tornadoes have wind speeds less than 110 miles per hour (180 km/h), are about 250 feet (80 m) across, and travel a few miles (several kilometers) before dissipating. The most extreme tornadoes can attain wind speeds of more than 300 miles per hour (480 km/h), stretch more than two miles (3 km) across, and stay on the ground for dozens of miles (more than 100 km).

Various types of tornadoes include the landspout, multiple vortex tornado, and waterspout. Waterspouts are characterized by a spiraling funnel-shaped wind current, connecting to a large cumulus or cumulonimbus cloud. They are generally classified as non-supercellular tornadoes that develop over bodies of water, but there is disagreement over whether to classify them as true tornadoes. These spiraling columns of air frequently develop in tropical areas close to the equator, and are less common at high latitudes. Other tornado-like phenomena that exist in nature include the gustnado, dust devil, fire whirls, and steam devil; downbursts are frequently confused with tornadoes, though their action is dissimilar.