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  • They're big,

  • they're scary

  • and they can carry cars,

  • cows

  • and even a couple of houses.

  • They can range from a simple dust storm,

  • to a force that can wipe out an entire town.

  • Unfortunately, the latter is coming for you.

  • This is a tornado.

  • Normally you'd take cover and hide,

  • or try to run from it.

  • But instead,

  • we're skydiving into it.

  • Woohooooo!!!

  • Unlike most natural disasters,

  • being caught in the middle of a tornado

  • is actually survivable.

  • There have been multiple reports

  • from people who were caught

  • inside the eye of a tornado

  • and have walked away without any injuries.

  • Tornadoes are most likely to occur in Tornado Alley,

  • a stretch of land in the midwestern United States.

  • They form when cool, dry air from Canada

  • and hot, moist air from Mexico

  • clash together to create a vicious storm,

  • which eventually becomes a tornado.

  • The wind in a tornado

  • can be up to nearly 500 km/h (310 mph)

  • and it's diameter can be as wide as 5 kilometers (3 miles).

  • So let's jump into this thing.

  • Alright, you're now inside of a tornado.

  • If you manage to keep yourself from vomiting,

  • as you're hurled and spun around within these violent winds,

  • you'll quickly notice a couple of things that happen when you're inside a tornado.

  • The first thing you'll probably notice

  • would be the temperature change.

  • Inside a tornado,

  • it's 15-20° C (27-36° F) colder than it would be outside.

  • That's due to wind

  • constantly being funneled into the center of the vortex.

  • The funneling will not only make it much colder,

  • but it will also make the air much thinner

  • than what you're used to.

  • Researchers estimate that the density of the air

  • would be 20% lower

  • than what's found at high altitudes.

  • To put this in perspective,

  • breathing in a tornado

  • would be the equivalent

  • of breathing at an altitude of 8,000 m (26,246.72 ft).

  • At that level, you generally need assistance to be able to breathe.

  • So let's hope you don't stay in here long.

  • If you do, you'll quickly pass out.

  • Let's give you a special mask, so you don't have to worry about breathing.

  • Another thing you'll notice

  • is just how smooth the airflow inside a tornado is.

  • Storm watchers that have

  • briefly been inside a tornado observed that

  • despite it looking like a crazy mess of wind and clouds from the outside,

  • the air in the eye of the tornado

  • is actually quite smooth.

  • But don't expect a nice peaceful ride while you're inside this thing.

  • Sure, maybe it would feel like nothing else existed on Earth,

  • but unfortunately, that's not the case.

  • And it wouldn't just be a party of one in this tornado.

  • There would be tons of other debris within it.

  • Glass, wood, bricks

  • and even entire objects like houses and cars.

  • And let's not forget about those cows.

  • With the tornado continually picking up other debris,

  • it would be pretty easy for you to get hit by something.

  • And remember, these objects would be spinning at nearly 500 km/h (310 mph).

  • So unless you get out of this thing quickly,

  • or happen to be incredibly lucky,

  • you'll most likely get hit by debris

  • and become severely injured or die.

  • But if you manage to survive all that,

  • the tornado will eventually dissipate.

  • This is due to cool air entering the vortex.

  • Now the tornado is gone,

  • and you can pop your parachute,

  • and you're free!

  • Keep in mind, it's basically impossible

  • for this to happen and for you to survive.

  • You'll have a much higher chance of surviving

  • if you manage to avoid the tornado

  • and seek some sort of shelter.

  • But what if we could nuke tornadoes, and stop them altogether?

  • That sounds like a story for another WHAT IF.

They're big,

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