The catastrophic event I chose is tornadoes because I think they are very interesting and I now realize I don’t know much about them. Tornadoes occur seasonally, between the spring and summer. Usually the areas affected by tornadoes are statewide. People usually notice a change in the atmosphere to predict when tornadoes are going to occur.
In 1972, a tornado occured in the West Coast of the United States. It was a supercell thunderstorm that had formed a tornado. It happened on April 5th, 1972 across Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. The event killed 6 people and left 301 people injured. It cost 3-5 million dollars in damage. In Oregon, the tornado damaged 4 boat moorings, 50 small boats, and it cost $250,000 in damage. In Washington, the tornado destroyed a grocery store, and injured 70 students in Peters S. Odgen Elemnentary. A lot of people were taken by surprise. If there were to be another tornado, it would occur in the east because the climate change will either help prevent it or cause (WERE PEOPLE PREPARED FOR THE EVENT OR SURPRISED) (WHERE IS THIS EVENT LIKELY TO OCCUR AGAIN IN WA. AND WHY)
Doppler Radar
The technology used to predict a tornado is a Doppler Radar. A doppler radar detects movement and speed which helps predict when a tornado is going to happen so people can evacuate as soon as possible. A doppler radar is used to track the speed of weather precipitation.