Linda Danyluk, age i2, of St. Catharines, Ont., Canada, for her question:

How does a tornado end?

A dusky funnel dips from a cloud and points a wavering finger at the ground. When it touches, the fury begins with sudden and total destruction. The twister may be a quarter of a mile wide, and it wanders on a path perhaps a few hundred feet long. As a rule, its violent energy is spent rather quickly. Then its faster than fast hurricane winds drop to gusty breezes.

A tornado is small and its fury is soon spent, but when it touches the ground it leaves a path of total destruction. A minute later, its violent winds no longer exist, and the stormy cloud from which it came sails slowly overhead. The storm may strike with thunder and lashing rain or pelting hail, but in a few minutes this wild weather also vanishes.