The phrase "a significant tornado" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing the severity or impact of a tornado, particularly in meteorological contexts.
Example: "The National Weather Service issued a warning for a significant tornado that could cause extensive damage to the area."
Alternatives: "a major tornado" or "a severe tornado".
It quickly became apparent that we were dealing with a significant tornado". Gary Lezak, a longtime chief meteorologist at KSHB in Kansas City, raved about the coverage.
It was confirmed later that day as a "significant" tornado with 125 mph winds, on the ground for more than 16 miles.
Early June, however, saw a marked increase in severe weather, and VORTEX2 participants collected data on a significant tornado tracking across southeastern Wyoming on June 5.
Tim was the first to succeed in this endeavor in a significant tornado (Manchester, S.D., in 2003; see here), recording a 100 mb pressure drop and gaining valuable insight to what it is like in a tornado.
"An extraordinary single-day event, such as a significant tornado, would be one of those exceptions where it is immediately apparent that local resources would not be able to keep up with demand," he said.
Rest assured: no matter how much pressure they receive from sour viewers to put America's Next Top Whatever back on the air when a tornado is actively destroying communities, it's extremely unlikely that news stations will ever choose to run with regular programming and talk about a significant tornado event after the fact.
A meteorologist with the National Weather Service said the violent storm that struck southern Saratoga County was "probably a fairly significant" tornado.
A few significant tornadoes occur annually in Europe, Asia, southern Africa, and southeastern South America, respectively.
She was paying particular attention to the Significant Tornado Parameter, an index that helps to predict destructive tornadoes.
Fine-scale, residential built-environment data for the Central Plains (regional) and Wichita, KS (metropolitan) domains are used in a Monte Carlo tornado simulation framework to estimate significant tornado impact magnitude and disaster potential.
Moore, on the other hand, has been the site of some of the state's most significant tornado damage in 1999, 2003, and now in 2013 but if there's a curse on Moore, I never heard about it.
