Instruct: Given a question, retrieve passages that can help answer the question.
Query: Where are tornadoes most common in the world?
Tornadoes have been recorded on all continents except Antarctica and are most common in the middle latitudes where conditions are often favorable for convective storm development.[1] The United States has the most tornadoes of any country, as well as the strongest and most violent tornadoes. A large portion of these tornadoes form in an area of the central United States popularly known as Tornado Alley.[2] Other areas of the world that have frequent tornadoes include significant portions of Europe, South Africa, Philippines, Bangladesh, parts of Argentina, Uruguay, and southern and southeast Brazil, northern Mexico, New Zealand, and far eastern Asia.[3][4]
A gustnado is a short-lived, shallow surface-based vortex which forms within the downburst emanating from a thunderstorm. The name is a portmanteau of "gust front tornado", as gustnadoes form due to non-tornadic straight-line wind features in the downdraft (outflow), specifically within the gust front of strong thunderstorms. Gustnadoes tend to be noticed when the vortices loft sufficient debris or form condensation cloud to be visible although it is the wind that makes the gustnado, similarly to tornadoes. As these eddies very rarely connect from the surface to the cloud base, they are very rarely considered as tornadoes. The gustnado has little in common with tornadoes structurally or dynamically in regard to vertical development, intensity, longevity, or formative process --as classic tornadoes are associated with mesocyclones within the inflow (updraft) of the storm, not the outflow.
The average gustnado lasts a few seconds to a few minutes, although there can be several generations and simultaneous swarms. Most have the winds of an EF-0 or EF-1 tornado (up to 110 mph or 177 km/h), and are commonly mistaken for tornadoes. However, unlike tornadoes, the rotating column of air in a gustnado "usually" does not extend all the way to the base of the thundercloud. Gustnadoes actually have more in common with whirlwinds. They are not considered true tornadoes (unless they connect the surface to the ambient cloud base) by most meteorologists and are not included in tornado statistics in most areas. Sometimes referred to as spin-up tornadoes, that term more correctly describes the rare tornadic gustnado that connects the surface to the ambient clouded base, or more commonly to the relatively brief but true tornadoes that are associated with a mesovortex. 
Tornadoes are possible in Minnesota from March–November, but the peak tornado month is June, followed by July, May, and August. Tornadoes are most common in the southern half of the state, which is located on the northern edge of Tornado Alley. Just over a third of tornadoes in Minnesota strike between 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm. The state averages 27 tornadoes per year, 99% of which have ratings of F2 or weaker. On average Minnesota has an F5 tornado once every 25 years. Some of the notable Minnesota tornadoes and outbreaks are:
Southern Ontario usually receives about a dozen tornadoes each year, with most of them occurring between May and September. April and October tornadoes are much less common, and tornadoes rarely occur outside of those time frames. This November 9 tornado was the latest one recorded in Ontario since an F2 tornado hit near Exeter on December 12, 1946. The only other tornado this late in the season occurred near Leamington on November 29, 1919.
As a result of Hurricane Rita, 101 tornadoes were confirmed over nearly a two-day period, though only 87 tornado reports were received by the Storm Prediction Center (SPC). Most of the tornadoes occurred in Mississippi, where 55 tornadoes were confirmed. The strongest tornado throughout the outbreak was an F3 tornado which struck areas of southeastern Louisiana late on September 24, injuring three people. Despite the large number of tornadoes, only one death resulted, which occurred as a result of an F1 tornado in Mississippi on September 24. However, another F1 tornado near Starkville, Mississippi injured seven people on September 25 making it the tornado with the most injuries during the outbreak. The same tornado was also the costliest, causing $2 million in damages. Overall, tornadoes during the outbreak killed one person and injured 23, and caused $18.373 million in damages.
On average, there are around 80 confirmed and unconfirmed tornadoes that touch down in Canada each year, with most occurring in Southern Ontario, the southern Canadian Prairies and southern Quebec. Canada ranks as the second country in the world with the most tornadoes per year, after the US. The most common types are F0 to F2 in damage intensity level and usually result in minor structural damage to barns, wood fences, roof shingles, chimneys, uprooted or snapped tree limbs and downed power lines. Fewer than 5% of tornadoes in Canada are rated F3 or higher in intensity, where wind speeds are in excess of . Prior to April 1, 2013, Canada used a slightly modified Fujita scale, and as of that date the Enhanced Fujita scale, again slightly modified, was put into use to rate tornado intensity, based on the damage to buildings and vegetation.
On March 23, more tornadoes and severe weather developed with the most significant tornadoes touching down in East Tennessee where significant damage was reported. Near Greenback in Blount County, an EF3 tornado was confirmed with severe damage in the area. Another notable tornado touched down in southwestern Pennsylvania, most notably in Hempfield Township, Pennsylvania. It was rated EF2.
As a multirole aircraft, the Tornado is capable of undertaking more mission profiles than the anticipated strike mission; various operators replaced multiple aircraft types with the Tornado as a common type – the use of dedicated single role aircraft for specialist purposes such as battlefield reconnaissance, maritime patrol duties, or dedicated electronic countermeasures (ECM) were phased out – either by standard Tornados or modified variants, such as the Tornado ECR. The most extensive modification from the base Tornado design was the Tornado ADV, which was stretched and armed with long range anti-aircraft missiles to serve in the interceptor role.
In highlights from the first season, Tornado became the 100% Heavyweight Champion on the second show and defended the championship for most of its run until being dethroned by the much larger competitor Goonga in the final episode. Tornado won a tournament where the winner would be awarded the WWP Heavyweight World Title, but seeing as he was already the champion he retained the championship. Sando Paji defeated Tornado to win the 100% Championship but refused to accept the title and it was awarded back to Tornado. Ananzi and Jason Steele were featured prominently on the show, with Steele winning a title contender's tournament that lasted several weeks and Ananzi winning a crucial ladder match against Angelico that awarded the winning team keys to a new vehicle. A controversial angle aired where one of the wrestlers competing on the Indian team died in the ring as a result of injuries inflicted by the Nigerian wrestler Kilimanjaro, which later led to an angle where the passed wrestler returned.
Hardest hit areas from the June 2 tornado outbreak included Pennsylvania, which reported 22 tornadoes on June 2 (and a total of 45 tornadoes from May 31 to June 2), western Maryland, where 5 tornadoes occurred, and West Virginia, where some counties in the Potomac Highlands reported their first tornado in recent history. Tornadoes were also observed in New York, Virginia, Ohio, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina. The most damaging tornado hit Carnegie, part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, at 5:55 PM EDT. There, 50 injuries and $13 million in damage were reported. The deadliest tornado, an F3 on the Fujita Scale, hit near Meshoppen, Pennsylvania, in Wyoming County, around 10:30 PM EDT. This tornado caused 2 fatalities, 15 injuries and $2.2 million in damage. The most violent tornado hit Frostburg, Maryland, in Allegany County, at 9:43 PM EDT. 5 persons were injured, and $5 million in property damage was reported. It was the first F4 tornado to have hit the state of Maryland since the National Weather Service began keeping records in 1950. The Frostburg Tornado had moved southeast from Somerset County, Pennsylvania, where it was rated F3.
The reason for the peak period for tornado formation being in the spring has much to do with temperature patterns in the U.S. Tornadoes often form when cool, polar air traveling southeastward from the Rockies overrides warm, moist, unstable Gulf of Mexico air in the eastern states. Tornadoes therefore tend to be commonly found in front of a cold front, along with heavy rains, hail, and damaging winds. Since both warm and cold weather are common during the springtime, the conflict between these two air masses tends to be most common in the spring. As the weather warms across the country, the occurrence of tornadoes spreads northward. Tornadoes are also common in the summer and early fall because they can also be triggered by hurricanes, although the tornadoes caused by hurricanes are often much weaker and harder to spot. Winter is the least common time for tornadoes to occur, since hurricane activity is virtually non-existent at this time, and it is more difficult for warm, moist maritime tropical air to take over the frigid Arctic air from Canada, occurrences are found mostly in the Gulf states and Florida during winter (although there have been some notable exceptions). There is a second active tornado season of the year, late October to mid-November. Autumn, like spring, is a time of the year when warm weather alternates with cold weather frequently, especially in the Midwest, but the season is not as active as it is during the springtime and tornado frequencies are higher along the Atlantic Coastal plain as opposed to the Midwest. They usually appear in late summer.
Tornadoes are most common in spring and least common in winter, but tornadoes can occur any time of year that favorable conditions occur.[22] Spring and fall experience peaks of activity as those are the seasons when stronger winds, wind shear, and atmospheric instability are present.[78] Tornadoes are focused in the right front quadrant of landfalling tropical cyclones, which tend to occur in the late summer and autumn. Tornadoes can also be spawned as a result of eyewall mesovortices, which persist until landfall.[79]
Tornadoes can form in any month, providing the conditions are favorable. For example, a freak tornado hit South St. Louis County Missouri on 31 December 2010, causing pockets of heavy damage to a modest area before dissipating. The temperature was unseasonably warm that day. They are least common during the winter and most common in spring. Since autumn and spring are transitional periods (warm to cool and vice versa) there are more chances of cooler air meeting with warmer air, resulting in thunderstorms. Tornadoes in the late summer and fall can also be caused by hurricane landfall.
René Schwall (born 29 January 1971) is a German sailor. He competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics. In the Tornado World Championships, which are organized by the International Sailing Federation, Schwall has won 3 gold medals, ranking him as a world champion during 1993, 1997, and 2000. He has also been awarded two silver and two bronze medals for other years in the Championships. He is currently ranked as the fourth most awarded Tornado medalist in open sailing. Schwall was born in the German town of Kiel, where the first Tornado World Championships were held since 1968, three years before his birth.
Because of contrasting air masses, the Great Plains, the Midwest, and the southern United States have frequent severe thunderstorms and tornado outbreaks during both the spring and the summer. In central portions of the U.S., tornadoes are more common than anywhere else in the world. They usually can touch down during the spring and the summer. The strip of land from north Texas north to Nebraska and east into Southern Michigan is known as Tornado Alley, where many houses have tornado shelters and where many towns have tornado sirens. Stretching across Mississippi and Alabama, Dixie Alley has experienced both tornadoes and violent thunderstorms, with peak tornado season coming on as early as February and waning by May. Florida also reports many tornadoes, but these rarely are very strong. The southern US has a second tornado season during the autumn. Generally, the area at greatest risk for tornadoes migrates northward from February to June, peaking in the Gulf States in February and March, the Ohio Valley and lower Midwest in April, southern and central Plains and central Midwest in May, and Northern Plains and upper Midwest (Dakotas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin) in June.
Selsey's climate is classified as warm and temperate. Although Selsey is in one of the sunnier areas of the UK, there is rainfall throughout the year and even the driest month still has rain. Probably the most problematic climatic hazard is wind. The town is situated in an area where tornadoes and waterspouts are common. A tornado in 1986 damaged 200 houses and cut a swathe 70 metres wide. Another tornado in 1998 left an estimated £10m of destruction and damaged Patrick Moore's observatory.
The Tri-State Tornado of Wednesday, March 18, 1925 was the deadliest tornado in United States history. It was also the most exceptional tornado during a major outbreak of at least 12 known significant tornadoes, spanning a large portion of the Midwestern and Southern United States. This one tornado alone inflicted 695 fatalities, more than twice as many as the second deadliest, the Great Natchez, Mississippi Tornado of May 7, 1840. The track left by the tornado was the longest ever recorded in the world as it crossed from southeastern Missouri, through southern Illinois, then into southwestern Indiana. Although not officially rated by NOAA, it is recognized by most experts (such as Tom Grazulis and Ted Fujita) as an F5 tornado, the maximum damage rating issued on the Fujita scale.
On average, around 80 confirmed and unconfirmed tornadoes touch down in Canada each year, with most occurring in Southern Ontario, the southern Canadian Prairies and southern Quebec. Canada ranks as the second country in the world with the most tornadoes per year, after the US. The most common types are EF0 to EF2 (F0 to F2) in damage intensity level and usually result in minor structural damage to barns, wood fences, roof shingles, chimneys, uprooted or snapped tree limbs and downed power lines. Fewer than 5% of tornadoes in Canada are rated EF3 (F3) or higher in intensity, where wind speeds are in excess of 225 km/h (140 mph).
The Tornado Alley is a region of the central United States where severe weather is common, particularly tornadoes. Supercell thunderstorms can affect this region at any time of the year, but they are most common in the spring. Tornado watches and warnings are frequently necessary in the spring and summer. Most places from the Great Plains to the East Coast of the United States and north as far as the Canadian Prairies, the Great Lakes region, and the St. Lawrence River will experience one or more supercells each year.
Tornadoes are common in many states but are most common to the west of the Appalachian Mountains and to the east of the Rockies. The Atlantic seaboard states – North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Virginia – are also very vulnerable, as well as Florida. The areas most vulnerable to tornadoes are the Southern Plains and Florida, though most Florida tornadoes are relatively weak. The Southern United States is one of the worst-affected regions in terms of casualties.
Some people mistakenly believe that tornadoes only occur in the countryside. This is hardly the case. While it is true that the plains states are the most tornado-prone places in the nation, it should be noted that tornadoes have been reported in every U.S state, including Alaska and Hawaii. One likely reason tornadoes are so common in the central U.S is because this is where Arctic air, cold fronts that have not been "weakened" yet first collide with warm tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico. As these fronts head further east, they sometimes lose their strength as they travel over more warm air. For this reason, tornadoes are not as common on the East Coast as they are in the Midwest. However, they have happened on rare occasion, such as the F3 twister that struck Limerick Township, Pennsylvania near Philadelphia on 27 July 1994,[17] the F2 twister that struck the northern suburbs of New York City on 12 July 2006,[18] the EF2 twister in the borough of Brooklyn on 8 August 2007, or the F4 twister that struck La Plata, Maryland on 28 April 2002.
Tornadoes are most common in spring and least common in winter.[6] The seasonal transition during autumn and spring promotes the development of extratropical cyclones and frontal systems that support strong convective storms. Tornadoes are also common in landfalling tropical cyclones, where they are focused in the right poleward section of the cyclone. Tornadoes can also be spawned as a result of eyewall mesovortices, which persist until landfall.[7] However, favorable conditions for tornado development can occur any time of the year.
Although favorable conditions for tornadoes in the United States can occur at any time, they are most common in spring and least common in winter. Because spring is a transitional period for the climate, there are more chances of cooler air meeting with warmer air, resulting in more thunderstorms. Tornadoes can also be spawned by landfalling tropical cyclones, which usually occur in late summer and autumn. In the United States, thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes usually form when the temperature is at its highest, typically from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
This page lists tornadoes and tornado outbreaks which have touched down in Canada prior to the 21st century. On average, there are around 80 confirmed and unconfirmed tornadoes that touch down in Canada each year, with most occurring in Southern Ontario, the southern Canadian Prairies and southern Quebec. Canada ranks as the country with the second most tornadoes per year, after the US. The most common types are F0 to F2 in damage intensity level and usually result in minor structural damage to barns, wood fences, roof shingles, chimneys, uprooted or snapped tree limbs and downed power lines. Fewer than 5% of tornadoes in Canada are rated F3 or higher in intensity, where wind speeds are in excess of . Prior to April 1, 2013, Canada used a slightly modified Fujita scale, and as of that date the Enhanced Fujita scale, again slightly modified, was put into use to rate tornado intensity, based on the damage to buildings and vegetation.
The most severe tornadoes reported were two F4 tornadoes. They took place on March 12 in Monroe City, Missouri and on September 22 in Crosstown, Missouri. The deadliest single tornado was on April 2 in Newbern, Tennessee where 16 people were killed (out of 29 in the outbreak). The most destructive tornado outside the US was on November 7 in Saroma, Hokkaido, Japan, where nine people died.