Page 2 - Lesson note-tornado

Activity Name: Create a Tornado in a Bottle

Materials Needed (per group):

• Two 1-litre plastic bottles with caps
• A metal washer or tornado tube connector (optional)
• Duct tape
• Water
• Food coloring (optional)
• Glitter (to visualize swirling motion – optional)

Instructions:

1. Fill one bottle ¾ full with water.
2. Add a few drops of food coloring or glitter.
3. Connect the second empty bottle upside down to the full one using a washer or tightly taped
connector.
4. Flip the bottles so the full one is on top.
5. Swirl the top bottle in a circular motion.
6. Watch the tornado vortex form in the bottom bottle.

Latest Research Data (As of 2023–24):
Fact/Statistic Data/Source

~484 km/h – Oklahoma, USA, 1999
Fastest recorded tornado wind speed
(Doppler radar)

Country with the most tornadoes per year United States (~1,200/year)

1925 Tri-State Tornado (USA) – 695
Most deadly tornado in history
deaths

Joplin, Missouri (USA), 2011 – ~$2.8
Costliest tornado in modern history
billion damage

Extremely rare – ~2–4 per year in
Tornadoes in India
eastern states

Dangerous tornado season in the USA Spring (March–June)