Odd and Fascinating Oklahoma Tornado Facts for the Season

I would wager that most people in Oklahoma are somewhat dulled to tornadoes. We live with them every year, and when they do grow too big and destroy a town, we sweep up the rubble, rebuild, and move on.

I would also bet that a lot of the general knowledge of twisters has been gained in popular culture too. Movies, TV shows, etc...

...but the real tornado scenarios are infinitely more violent and fascinating than you probably understand.

When the forecast calls for severe weather and tornado risks, I assume we all do the same things. If not tied to, we at least stay close to our weather apps and the local television and radio stations with that tiny little fear of "what if" deep in our guts. Not that we expect the worst to happen, but to have the best odds of knowing before it happens.

We listen and watch as meteorologists make the most of the ratings, chasing every little thing with the expectations they're about to put on an Emmy-worthy performance. You start hearing keywords like inflow, velocity, wind shear, hook echo, scud, wall cloud, funnel, etc...

You'll also head a ton of hilarious off-the-wall phrases if you're watching Oklahoma's most entertaining weather man David Payne.

If grandma's at the casino, you better go get her. You have the time.

It may be hard to believe, but as much as we've learned about tornadoes in the seventy-ish years of intense study, there's a lot about them science still doesn't understand, such as how they form.

That's not to say we don't realize it's a rotating bit of wind that turns verticle, but that's the extent of the understanding. Experts also have no idea why strong tornadoes suddenly dissipate and just go away. There's been a real push to study it, including thousands of attempts at a "Twister" type of data packs and probes to see inside a tornado, but when they do intercept as planned, the data is massive and inconclusive.

While they don't understand tornadoes still, we all know what conditions to look for. During the Oklahoma Spring, conditions are prime.

Here's a quick rundown of some truly terrifying and fascinating tornado facts.