How Does Tornadoes Affect Trains?

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. The windstorm is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology to name a weather system with a low-pressure area in the center around which, from an observer looking down toward the surface of the earth, winds blow counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern. Tornadoes come in many shapes and sizes, and they are often visible in the form of a condensation funnel originating from the base of a cumulonimbus cloud, with a cloud of rotating debris and dust beneath it. 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), are more than two miles (3 km) in diameter, and stay on the ground for dozens of miles (more than 100 km).Various types of tornadoes include the multiple vortex tornado, landspout, 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 whirl, and steam devil. Tornadoes occur most frequently in North America (particularly in central and southeastern regions of the United States colloquially known as tornado alley; the USA and Canada have by far the most tornadoes of any countries in the world), South Africa, much of Europe (except Spain, most of the Alps, Balkans, and northern Scandinavia), western and eastern Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh and adjacent eastern India, Japan, Philippines, and southeastern South America (Uruguay and Argentina). Tornadoes can be detected before or as they occur through the use of Pulse-Doppler radar by recognizing patterns in velocity and reflectivity data, such as hook echoes or debris balls, as well as through the efforts of storm spotters. Affect may refer to: Affect (education) Affect (linguistics), attitude or emotion that a speaker brings to an utterance Affect (philosophy) Affect (psychology), the experience of feeling or emotion Affect display, signs of emotion, such as facial expression, vocalization, and posture Affect theory Affective science, the scientific study of emotion Affective computing, an area of research in computer science aiming to understand the emotional state of users Reduced affect display, a.k.a. emotional blunting or affective flattening, a reduction in emotional reactivity Pseudobulbar affect, a.k.a. labile affect, the unstable display of emotion Affect (rhetoric), the responsive, emotional feeling that precedes cognition Affected accent; see Accent (sociolinguistics) Affect (company), a defunct Japanese video game developerA train is a form of rail transport consisting of a series of connected vehicles that generally run along a railroad (or railway) track to transport passengers or cargo (also known as "freight" or "goods"). The word train comes from the Old French trahiner, derived from the Latin trahere meaning 'to pull, to draw'.Motive power for a train is provided by a separate locomotive or individual motors in a self-propelled multiple unit. The term "engine" is often used as an alternative to locomotive. Although historically steam propulsion dominated, the most common types of locomotive are diesel and electric, the latter supplied by overhead wires or additional rails. Trains can also be hauled by horses, pulled by engine or water-driven cable or wire winch, run downhill using gravity, or powered by pneumatics, gas turbines or electric batteries. The track usually consists of two running rails with a fixed spacing, which may be supplemented by additional rails such as electric conducting rails ("third rail") and rack rails. Monorails and maglev guideways are also occasionally used.Passenger trains include passenger-carrying vehicles and can often be very long and fast. High-speed rail systems began expanding rapidly in the late 20th century, and this remains a major subject of further development. The term "light rail" is sometimes used to refer to a modern tram system, but it may also mean an intermediate form between a tram and a train, similar to a heavy rail rapid transit system. Freight (goods) trains use freight cars (or wagons/trucks) to transport goods or materials (cargo). It is possible to carry passengers and freight in the same train using a mixed consist. Rail cars and machinery that are used for the maintenance and repair of tracks, are termed "maintenance of way" equipment; these may be assembled into maintenance of way trains. Similarly, dedicated trains may be used to provide support services to stations along a train line, such as garbage or revenue collection.