Tornado Alley: Monster Storms of the Great Plains

by Howard B. Bluestein

Tornadoes are the most violent, magnificent, and utterly unpredictable storms on earth, reaching estimated wind speeds of 300 mph and leaving swaths of destruction in their wake. In Tornado Alley , Howard Bluestein draws on two decades of experience chasing and photographing tornadoes across the Plains to present a fascinating historical account of the study of tornadoes and the great thunderstorms that spawn them.
A century ago, tornado warnings were so unreliable that they usually went unreported. Today, despite cutting-edge Doppler radar technology and computer simulation, these storms remain remarkably difficult to study. Leading scientists still conduct much of their research from the inside of a speeding truck, and often contend with jammed cameras, flash floods, and windshields smashed by hailstones and flying debris. Using over a hundred diagrams, models, and his own spectacular color photographs, Bluestein documents the exhilaration of hair-raising encounters with as many as nine tornadoes in one day, as well as the crushing disappointment of failed expeditions and ruined equipment. Most of all, he recreates the sense of beauty, mystery, and power felt by the scientists who risk their lives to study violent storms.
For scientists, amateur weather enthusiasts, or anyone who's ever been intrigued or terrified by a darkening sky, Tornado Alley provides not only a history of tornado research but a vivid look into the origin and effects of nature's most dramatic phenomena.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Science

180 pages, Paperback

First published May 13, 1999

Reviews

[Bamboozlepig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars for the amazing pictures. Two stars for the rest of the book. It's really scientific-based and honestly my eyes glazed over at all the technological terms and data. It goes really in-depth on how the radar systems work and how tornadoes form. There's some sections that discuss storm chasing and Bluestein's experiences trying to catch tornadoes, but overall it's pretty dry reading. There's also a bit about some of the more historical tornadoes, but there's not much first person accounting about going through tornadoes, save for Bluestein's comments about the tornadoes he's chased. It's also pretty outdated since the technology has since gotten more precise, but it's a decent look at the basics of tornado science.

[Zora · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the nation's preeminent tornado scientists talks about tornadogenesis and the science of looking inside the storms.

Several paragraphs I had to re-read twice to get the sense out of. He's not as talented at dumbing it down for a broad audience as some scientists are (though he did, thankfully, leave out all the calculus equations I know he probably longed to put in.)

I learned a lot, my head hurt from time to time, and I felt my age (and was painfully aware of the inflexibility of thinking that seems to come with the aging brain--or my aging brain, at any rate.)

Nice pictures--and plenty of them--which helped me understand tornadogenesis better. Wall clouds, tail clouds, multiple vortex formation and merging, water spouts, gustnados--he seems to have caught them all.

Three stars for me...four stars for physics/maths majors.

[Bleine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the photography was great, the book itself was hard to get into. It delves into basic thermodynamics and builds upon previous explanations, so if you miss it the first time you're out of luck. I really wanted to like it... but I wasn't sure what to make of two of the chapters. Apparently the person who read it before me understood more (they wrote out the basic equations in the margins). I would recommend it for any tornado enthusiast, just for the pretty pictures and the in-depth history lessons, but don't expect to understand much unless you have a very solid physics background.

[pianogal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of this one were really good, but parts of it were slow and over my head. Bluestein got very into his radars and how they work and why we should care. Come on - I just want you to tell me about all the cool tornadoes you saw. Also, this is from 1998, so it's valuable more from a historical perspective as from a current viewpoint.

Not for the novice, but intermediate weather geeks may be enthralled.

[Gabe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book explains the history of how scientists study severe weather as well as explaining the structure of storms and how they form. It has great photographs and visuals and is an easy read for people with no background in science. It is written by a world expert on the topic.

[Nicholas S.]

I would like to read this Book in the future.