0
What else can I help you with?
What is the difference between a funnel cloud and tornado?
A funnel cloud is a rotating column of air that does not reach the ground, while a tornado is a funnel cloud that extends to the ground and causes damage. Both are formed from the same weather conditions and can be associated with severe thunderstorms.
What kind of damage does a funnel cloud do?
A funnel cloud is a rotating, cone-shaped cloud that extends downward from a thunderstorm. While it is not considered a tornado until it touches the ground, a funnel cloud can still produce strong winds and hail. If a funnel cloud does touch down, it can cause the same type of damage as a tornado, including destruction of buildings, trees, and other structures.
Are tornadoes and storms the same thing?
Not really. A tornado is a specific type of storm. So a tornado is a storm, but most storms are not tornadoes. A tornado is a violently rotating column of air extending from the base of a thunderstorm to the ground often made visible by a funnel cloud.
Have there been any tornadoes in the uk?
Yes tornados occur regularly in the UK. The difference is that fortunately they are weak. There is supposed to be more tornados in the UK than in the USA they just are not on anything like the same scale. I have not seen any tornados myself but I have seen the beginnings of a tornado in a funnel cloud - a sharp triangular cloud pointing to the ground. If these touch the ground then you have a tornado.
Can tornadoes come from earthquake?
No. Tornadoes and earthquakes are completely unrelated. At this point in time, formation of tornadoes are not fully understood by scientists. They usually form in a giant rotating thunderstorm called a supercell. Supercells form when cold polar air meets warm tropical air. The result is a great instability caused by the rising warm air. A squall line, or narrow zone of cumulonimbus clouds forms, giving life to the tornadoes. Lightning flashes, and heavy rains and hail begin to fall. Soon after, the easiest recognizable part of the tornado, the funnel, seems to descend from the base of the cloud. In actuality, it does not, but rather the pressure within the cloud drops due to the increasing wind speeds. This is known as Bernoulli's principle. As the pressure drops, it causes moisture in the air to condense. This action continues down the spiral, giving the impression that the funnel is descending from the cloud base. In addition to the visible funnel, there is also a hissing sound, which turns into a loud roar when the tornado touches the earth. Many people believe that there is no tornado unless there is a visible funnel cloud. However this is not true, for 'invisible' tornadoes can exist. Its the same thing as a normal tornado, but the funnel cloud does not descend to the ground. The latter situation is extremely rare. This is a simulation of how a tornado forms:
Is a twister and a hurricane the same?
No. A hurricane is a large scale self-sustaining storm system that forms over tropical ocean water. A twister, more commonly called a tornado, is a small-scale but violent vortex that forms from and is dependent on a parent thunderstorm and is usually made visible by a funnel cloud.
When a tornado disappears then comes back is called?
In some cases one tornado will dissipate completely, and then a completely new tornado will form afterward from the same thunderstorm. This is called a tornado family.
Is there a difference between a tornado and a twister?
No. Twister is just an informal word for a tornado.
What is the difference between a twister and a tornado?
There is none; twister and tornado are two words for the same thing. Tornado is the preferred scientific term.
Do tornadoes form in the same cloud that bring thunderstorms?
Yes, tornadoes can form within the same cloud system as thunderstorms. Tornadoes typically develop from severe thunderstorms known as supercells, which are characterized by rotating updrafts. When conditions are right, the rotating updraft can intensify into a tornado.
Why do tornadoes often look black or grey?
The visible funnel of a tornado is composed of water droplets like an ordinary cloud, and so usually is the same color as the clouds that it extends from. Not all tornadoes are gray, however. Depending on lighting some may appear white or black. Tornadoes can also be colored by soil that they lift and become gray, black, brown, tan, or even red.
Are tornadoes white until they touch the ground and pick up debris?
They can be. The apparent color of a tornado's funnel depends on the lighting conditions. A tornado that is lit up from the front will appear light gray or white, while a tornado lit from behind will appear dark. The link below shows a comparison of two pictures taken from opposite sides of the same tornado at nearly the same time, but from opposite sides.
