...I Don't Think We're in Kansas Anymore...

          When we hear the word tornado we typically think of states in the Midwestern United States and not the islands of Hawaii, but on March 9th a tornadic waterspout touched down on the island of Oahu.  This tornado, which began as a waterspout, was rated an EF0 on the Enhanced Fujita scale (0 is the lowest, 5 highest) bringing winds of 60-70mph.  This is the first tornado to strike the islands since 2009.  Most tornadoes which affect the islands of Hawaii are rated EF0's although, there have been a few EF2's and some unrated ones (one's that may have been higher than EF2 strength).  For a complete list of the tornadoes that have struck Hawaii visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hawaii_tornadoes .
          Friday's tornado developed from a disorganized group of showers and thunderstorms (convection) which developed around the Hawaiian islands.  As stated before, this tornado was a waterspout (tornado that develops over water rather than land) which then moved over the island of Oahu traveling for a little more than a mile.  Waterspouts form through similar mechanisms as tornadoes, but when a waterspout forms you can first see a dark spot over the water where it begins its formation.  Then you will see the water begin to swirl around a vortex before you see the entire tube shape of the waterspout develop.  Another characteristic that made this storm particularly interesting was the large hail it brought with it, golf ball sized hail, and there were even some reports of larger hail.  All in all this was a very interesting event which has caught the eye of many meteorologists.

Radar image of the cell which dropped the tornado:

http://theweatherguru.com/

Image of some of the damage form the tornado:

http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/09/10628559-a-rare-tornado-touches-down-on-oahu

Sources:
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/apx/science/waterspouts/waterspouts.php
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/national-weather-service-stormy-weather-brings-unprecedented-hail-storms-over-hawaii/2012/03/09/gIQAtxC01R_story.html