OUTLINE FOR INFORMATIVE SPEECH
Tornadoes Purpose: To inform the audience about tornadoes
Thesis: Today I will discuss some fascinating facts about tornadoes. Specifically, I will discuss the causes, occurrences, myths, and oddities associated with tornadoes.
Organizational Pattern: Topical I. Introduction
- Attention Getter Have you ever seen a tornado or known someone who has?
- Relevance Tornadoes can be devastating and can occur anywhere at anytime so you may be affected by one or know someone who will.
- Credibility I am fascinated by tornadoes and have done research in the last couple weeks preparing for this speech.
- Thesis Today I will discuss some fascinating facts about tornadoes.
- Preview Specifically, I will discuss the causes, occurrences, myths, and oddities associated with tornadoes. Transition First, I will discuss the causes.
Body
-
...
- What causes a tornado?
- Tornadoes can occur at anyplace or anytime.
According to an American Red Cross brochure, tornadoes occur when thunderstorms develop in warm, moist air in advance of eastward-moving cold fronts. These thunderstorms often produce large hail, strong winds, and tornadoes.
Also, according to the Red Cross, tornadoes form during the sping in the Central Plains along a “dryline” which separates very warm, moist aire to the east from hot, dry air to the west. Tornado-producing thunderstorms may form as the dryline moves east during the afternoon hours.
Transition Next, I will discuss occurrences.
According to the 1999 Weather Guide Calendar, “tornadoes have been reported in every month of the year somewhere in the U. S. On average, there are about 800 tornadoes a year in the U. S. causing about 80 deaths.
In fact, Infoplease. com reports that among the 25 deadliest tornadoes, the top ranked occurred in the tri-state area o
Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana in 1925. 689 people were killed.
Other top-ranked deadly tornadoes occurred in Mississippi, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Michigan. [Visual Aid] Transition My third point is myths.
- There are many myths that people have about tornadoes [Visual Aid]
- According to infoplease. com, the first myth is that areas near rivers, lakes, and mountains are safe from tornadoes. In fact, no place is safe.In the late 1980s, a tornado swept through Yellowstone National Park.
- The second myth is that the low pressure in a tornado causes buildings to explode when in fact, the structural damage is caused by winds exceeding 200 miles per hour.
- Another myth is that windows should be opened before a tornado approaches to equalize pressure and minimize damage when all this does is allow damaging winds to enter and wastes your time getting to a safe place.
- Transition Finally, tornadoes produce certain oddities.
Oddities can and have occurred during tornadoes.
- Larry Sessions labels these as AWESOME Observations which stands for “Anomalous Weather Event Seen Over Mother Earth. ” [Visual Aid]
- According to Sessions, “there are fairly well substantiated cases of it raining not cats and dogs [or cows as we all saw in the movie, “Twister”], but turtles and frogs (as well as an assortment of fishes, snakes, insects and many other living and non-living items).
- Also, according to the 1996 Weather Guide, there have been reports of record albums lodged in telephone polls, boards lodged into trees, and even the “de-feathering” of chickens.Transition In conclusion, III.
Conclusion
- I have discussed the causes, occurrences, myths, and oddities associated with tornadoes.
- Perhaps now you are more informed about the devastating impact tornadoes can have
on the lives of those who find themselves in the path of one.
References
- American Red Cross. (1995). Tornadoes: Nature's most violent storms [Brochure].
- Washington, DC: National Weather Service. Grazulis, T. (1995).
- Chasing tornado oddities. In L. Sessions (Ed. ), 1996
- Weather Guide Calendar with Phenomenal Weather Events.
- Denver, CO: Accord Publishing. Infoplease. (2000, June 20). Tornado facts. [On-Line].
- Available: http://www. infoplease. com/ipa/A0193170. html Sessions, L. (1998). Tornadoes: The unexpected statistics.
- In L. Sessions (Ed. ), 1999 Weather Guide Calendar with Phenomenal Weather Events. Denver, CO: Accord Publishing.
- Sessions, L. (1998). Out of the clear blue: AWESOME observations. In L. Sessions (Ed. ), 1999 Weather Guide Calendar with Phenomenal Weather Events.
- Denver, CO: Accord Publishing.
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