The Tornado is a wooden roller coaster located at Adventureland in Altoona, Iowa, near Des Moines.The Tornado made its debut on July 4, 1978, during Adventureland's third full season. It was designed by William Cobb, and built by the Frontier Construction Company. Soon after its opening it was considered one of the top ten wooden roller coasters in the world. Even today after more than a quarter-century and the addition of many other rides and three other coasters, this is still Adventureland's signature ride. It has two trains, one red and one blue. The red train runs from the start of the season to mid-July. The blue train runs from mid-July to the end of the season.The name Tornado has special significance for the park. Adventureland was to open for its debut season in July 1974. However, a real tornado hit the park before it could open, and caused it to be delayed until August of that year. When the ride debuted in 1978, park advertisements exclaimed "Another Tornado has hit Adventureland!"LayoutThe layout of the Tornado is a unique 90 degree curved out and back that follows the shore of a small lake. After leaving the station, the train coasts down a small incline, around a curve, and heads up the lift hill to the top of the first drop. This drop, which is the largest in the ride, can provide for some air time depending on where riders are seated on the train. The second drop is considerably shorter, but leads into the third drop, which contains a "head-chopper" moment at the bottom as the track ducks under some support structures for the return track, which is immediately to the rider's left at this point in the ride. After drop three, the train rounds a banked turn and heads back to the station via three additional smaller drops.
