What 5 types of tornadoes are there?

Answer 1

Tornadic and fair weather waterspouts.

Tornadic waterspouts are ordinary tornadoes that form from the mesocyclone of a supercell and just happen to be on water.

Fair weather waterspouts are generally weaker than tornadic waterspouts. They form from developing storms that occur over water that is warmer than the air above. They form in a manner more like that of dust devils than ordinary tornadoes.

Most waterspouts are of the fair weather variety.

Answer 2

The two types are supercell tornadoes and land/waterspouts.

Supercell tornadoes are the more common and more destructive variety. These tornadoes form from the mesocyclone of a supercell. It is these tornadoes that sometimes achieve ratings of EF4 and EF5.

Less common are landspouts and waterspouts. These do not form from mesocyclones and most often occur with developing storms and form in manner similar to dust devils. They are weaker than supercell tornadoes, rarely exceeding EF0 or EF1 intensity, though on occasion they have been rated as high as EF3.

Answer 3

There are three main types of tornadoes. Supercell tornadoes are the most common and the strongest. These form from the mesocyclone, or strong, rotating updraft, of an especially powerful type of thunderstorm called a supercell. These are the tornadoes that will sometimes reach EF4 and EF5 strength.

Waterspouts are somewhat less common and are weaker. These form over warm bodies of water and are not associate with supercells. They are not counted in official tornado records unless they hit land. When they do hit land they rarely cause more than EF1 damage. Occasionally a supercell tornado may form on or travel onto a body of water, in which case it is called a tornadic waterspout.

Finally there are landspouts, also known as dust-tube tornadoes. They are very similar to waterpouts, forming in storms outside of supercells (or occasionally in a supercell, away from the mesocyclone). There are generally of EF0 or EF1 strength, though a few as strong as EF3 have been recorded.

Answer 4

In terms of different varieties of tornado there are only two.

Type 1 tornadoes are the more common type. Nearly all strong tornado, including all EF4 and EF5 tornadoes are of this type. These tornadoes form from the mesocyclone of a supercell thunderstorm.

Type 2 tornadoes are less common and generally weaker, rarely exceeding EF1 strength. Most of these are waterspouts which dissipate quickly if they hit land. Occasionally they form on land, in which case they are called landspouts. Note that occasionally type 1 tornadoes occur one water, in which case they are called tornadic waterspouts.

There are different categories of tornado strength, but these only represent intensity levels based on damage, not distinct types of tornado. It is a common misconception that there are five categories, EF1 to EF5 but there are actually six as EF0 is one of the levels. The categories are as follows:

EF0: peak winds 65-85 mph. shingles peeled off, tree limbs broken, weak rooted trees toppled.

EF1: 86-110 mph. House roofs severely damaged, trailers overturned, windows broken.

EF2: 111-135 mph. Roofs torn from well- built houses. Trailers completely destroyed.

EF3: 136-165 mph. Roofs and walls torn from well-built houses. Most trees in a forest uprooted or snapped.

EF4: 166-200 mph. Well built houses completely leveled. Trees stripped of bark.

EF5: over 200 mph. Well built, well anchored houses wiped clean or lifted from foundations. Large objects thrown/carried great distances.