A tornado with wind speeds of 70 miles an hour can sweep away entire houses and hurl cars through the air.
A tornado with wind speeds of 70 miles an hour can sweep away entire houses and hurl cars through the air.
Photograph by Christopher White, Dreamstime

Ten freaky forces of nature

Learn about and see pictures of auroras, snow rollers, rogue waves, ball lightning, and other freaky forces of nature!

Nature can be unbelievably powerful. A major earthquake can topple huge buildings and bring down entire mountainsides. At Niagara Falls, more than 500,000 gallons (1,892,705 liters) of water crash down 18 stories into the Niagara River every second—enough to fill nearly 50 Olympic-size swimming pools in a minute! And everyone knows about hurricanes, blizzards, avalanches, forest fires, floods, tidal waves, and tornadoes. But if you thought Mother Nature didn't have many surprises up her sleeve, think again. Nature has a load of other powers that, while less well-known, can only be described as, well, freaky.