A tornado displaying a condensation funnel.

According to the NSSL (NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory) "A tornado is a narrow, violently rotating column of air that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground." A tornado is usually visible as a funnel cloud, but tornadoes are known to exist with no visible funnel cloud. Typical tornadoes we see in movies or on the weather report are visible as the tornado itself is a condensation funnel made up of water droplets, dust, debris and a young girl named Dorothy and her dog Toto from Kansas. Tornadoes occur all over the world, in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. The United States gets hit with about 1200 tornadoes per year with many of these tornadoes occurring in Tornado Alley located in the central USA. Typically, in the USA, tornadoes appear in the Southeast in the cooler months of the year, moving to the Central Plains in May and June and ending the season in the Northern Plains and Midwest in early summer. Be aware, tornadoes have been reported in all 50 states of the USA.

Tornadoes can pop up unexpectedly and without much warning. Some warning signs of tornado activity are:

• Condensation Funnel - consists of water droplets that extend downward from the base of a thunderstorm and will usually have dust and debris near the ground at the bottom of the funnel.
• Inflow Bands - jagged bands of low cumulus clouds extending from the main part of the thunderstorm and usually pointed south or southeast. Inflow bands appear to be spiralling or rotating.
• Wall Cloud - an isolated cloud coming down from the rear of the storm in a rain free area that resembles a wall. A wall cloud may rotate and move quickly in a vertical direction.
• Rear Flank Downdraft - air rushing downward at the back of the thunderstorm that looks like a bright clear slot at the rear of a wall cloud. It can also resemble curtains of rain wrapping around the base of the storm clouds.

Tornado Watch/Warnings in the United States:

• Tornado Watch - issued by the NOAA Storm Prediction Center. A watch may cover several states or just parts of one state at a time. Tune to NOAA Weather Radio to discover when a tornado watch has been issued for your area.
• Tornado Warning - issued by your local National Weather Service Forecast Office. A tornado warning means you better find shelter quickly as a human spotter or weather radar has detected a tornado in your area. One or more counties may be affected by this warning.  Take care to protect yourself and, if possible, your property from the serious threat presented by a tornado.

Tornado Watch/Warnings in Australia:

• Australia usually sees between 30 and 80 tornadoes each year. Supercell tornadoes are most common in Central and Eastern New South Wales, Southeast Queensland and Northeast Victoria.  Keep track of tornado activity in Australia by visiting the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.