Template:Wp-Tornado, West Virginia

Watchers
the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Tornado, also called Upper Falls, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States.

Four agencies of the United States government determine the official name of the community. The United States Postal Service established the Upper Falls of Coal Post Office in 1851, then replaced it with the Tornado Post Office in 1881 and today delivers mail within ZIP Code 25202 addressed to either Tornado or Upper Falls. The United States Board on Geographic Names authenticated the name of the community as Tornado in 1980, changed it to Upper Falls in 2010 and back to Tornado in 2013. After approving the replacement of the Tornado CDP with the much larger Upper Falls CDP in 2010, the Kanawha County Commission decided in 2013 that residents of the community supported the name Tornado over Upper Falls and requested that the name be changed back. The United States Census Bureau originated the Tornado CDP in 1990, changed to the Upper Falls CDP in 2010 and then to the Tornado CDP for 2020. The United States National Geodetic Survey maintains a bench mark in the community named Upper Falls, which has never changed.

The 2000 Tornado CDP had a population of 1,111 and a total area of 3.60 square miles. The 2010 Upper Falls CDP, which was much larger, had a population of 3,701 and a total area of 17.18 square miles, making it the largest CDP in West Virginia by area. The 2020 Tornado CDP is again much smaller, with a population of 1,081 and a total area of 3.67 square miles.

The adjacent Coal River gives the community its historical name from the cascading waters of its Upper Falls.