In article ,
Rodger Whitlock wrote:
On Wed, 30 Oct 2002 15:41:38 -0000, "Druss"
wrote:

...I can be fairly sure that
no gale is going to be carrying away two railways sleepers.

You have obviously never experienced a real tornado, such as they
get on the Great Plains.

The force of a wind is proportional to the square of its speed,
and a very strong gale is about 1/4 the speed of a very strong
tornado.

But, even in Tornado Alley, the chance of any place (i.e. a precise
point) being hit by a tornado in a given year is very small; the
chance of many places in the UK of being hit by a very strong gale
in any given year is close to 1. This is why gales in the UK are
so much more destructive than tornados in the USA.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren,
University of Cambridge Computing Service,
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QH, England.
Email:
Tel.: +44 1223 334761 Fax: +44 1223 334679