What are the main differences between the tropical cyclone the mid latitude cyclone and a tornado?

Answer 1

Tropical cyclones, extratropical cyclones, and tornadoes are weather patterns that produce winds that rotate around a cener of low pressure in a cyclonic direction. That is clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere.

Tropical cyclones, the strongest of which can be called hurricanes or typhoons, are large-scale convective low pressure systems characterized by a warm core. They are driven by the convection within the thunderstorms that make them up. Tropical cyclones get their energy from the heat released as huge amounts of water vapor from warm water condenses. Such cyclones are intimately dependent on this power source and so can only form and maintain themselves over warm ocean water. Tropical cyclones that stray from these areas will weaken and either dissipate or become mid-latitude cyclones. Strong tropical cyclones will often develop a calm, sometimes clear area called an eye. Such a feature is rarely seen in mid-latitude cyclones. Tropical cyclones are generally more intense than mid-latitude cyclones, producing hurricane force winds with greater frequency, and occasionally producing winds over 150 mph. Tropical cyclones are most common in the warmer months.

Mid-latitude cyclones, also called extratropical cyclones, are large-scale low-pressure systems that generally occur between 30 and 60 degrees of latitude and are characterized by a cold core. They are driven by differences in temperature along the boundaries of air masses. These weather systems are connected to fronts, or boundaries between air masses. Unlike tropical cyclone, mid-latitude cyclones are not powered by thunderstorms, though they can still produce them. Mid-latitude cyclones can develop over both land and water and can bring a variety of weather patterns depending on the conditions and time of year. In the colder months they often bring snow and somtimes blizzard conditions. In warmer months they may bring heavy rain and thunderstorms. Sometimes, blizzards occur in the cold portion of the cyclone while thunderstorms occur in the warm portion. Mid-latitude cyclones are generally not as intense as tropical cyclones, but tend to be larger in geographic extent, though they can still produce strong wind. Extratropical cyclones tend to be stronger in the colder months.

A tornado is a violently rotating column of air extending from the the bases of a thnderstorm to the ground. A tornado has some characteristics of a cyclone, but is not a true cyclone. Cyclones, both tropical and extratropical, are large-scale independent storm systems typically hundreds of miles wide. A tornado is a small-scale vortex, rarely over a mile wide and usually much smaller and is dependent on a larger parent thunderstorm. while a cyclone forms and occurs over the course of days, the duration of a tornado is usually measured in minutes. Tornadoes are famous for the typically conical condensation funnel that makes many of them visible, a feature unique to tornadoes and waterspouts. Tornadoes are usually driven by rotation within a thunderstorm, most often a kind of rotating updraft called a mesyclone withing a thnderstorm called a supercell. The storms that produce tornadoes are most often found along or near the fronts associated with a mid-latitude cyclone, but can also occur with a tropical cyclone or in the absense of an organized system. Evidence now indicates that some tornadoes have a feature similar to the eye for a hurricane. A tornado does not produce its own precipitation, though it is usually accompanied by rain and sometimes by hail. As a result, the threat of a tornado comes from its wind. Air in a tornado rises rapidly, unlike the mainly horizontal wind of a cyclone, and twists on a much smaller scale. This makes tornadic winds more damaging than ordinary winds at the same speed. Tornadoes tend to be strongest and occur most frequently in the spring, but show great variability in where and when they occur. They are the most difficult storms to predict. Tornadoes are the most violent windstorms on Earth, with the strongest producing wind gusts over 300 mph.