The tornado itself is a powerful, rotating updraft. However, some tornadoes have a downdraft at their centers.
A tornado starts from the mesocyclone, or strong, rotating updraft, of a supercell. A supercell is a type of especially powerful, rotating thunderstorm.
There are a couple ways in which a tornado can form, both involving the updraft of a thunderstorm. In the classic model of tornado formation, the updraft of the thunderstorm starts rotating due to interaction with wind shear (differences in wind speed and direction with altitude) and may be influenced by the general rotation of the parent storm system. The tornado then develops from this rotating updraft. In the other model, by which landspouts and most waterspouts form, a broad-level circulation at the ground gets caught in the updraft of a developing thunderstorm, becoming narrower and more intense.
Tornadoes take on a spiral shape because the winds in them spin and move upward. This is because tornadoes originate from the rotating updraft of a supercell thunderstorm. The updraft gets this rotation from wind shear.
Tornadoes rotate because they form from a larger mass of rotating air. In most cases this rotation comes from a mesocyclone, the rotating updraft of a supercell thunderstorm. The mesocyclone can tighten and intensify to produce a tornado. Some tornadoes form from a broad, weak circulation at ground level, which gets caught in a thunderstorm updraft and turned into a narrower but stronger vortex.
No. All thunderstorms require an updraft, but that updraft does not need to rotate. A supercell is not a rotating updraft, but rather a particular kind of thunderstorm with a rotating updraft.
The tornado itself is a powerful, rotating updraft. However, some tornadoes have a downdraft at their centers.
A thunderstorm with a deep, rotating updraft.
A tornado starts from the mesocyclone, or strong, rotating updraft, of a supercell. A supercell is a type of especially powerful, rotating thunderstorm.
A rotating updraft, or supercell
To be put briefly: rolling air called wind shear gets turned vertical by a thunderstorm's updraft. This starts the storm rotating, turning into a supercell. Under the right conditions this rotating updraft, called a mesocyclone, can tighten and intensify into a tornado.
There are a couple ways in which a tornado can form, both involving the updraft of a thunderstorm. In the classic model of tornado formation, the updraft of the thunderstorm starts rotating due to interaction with wind shear (differences in wind speed and direction with altitude) and may be influenced by the general rotation of the parent storm system. The tornado then develops from this rotating updraft. In the other model, by which landspouts and most waterspouts form, a broad-level circulation at the ground gets caught in the updraft of a developing thunderstorm, becoming narrower and more intense.
A supercell does not become a mesocyclone, it is a storm with as mesocyclone inside it.A mesocyclone is the rotating updraft of a supercell that forms when wind shear is turned vertical by a thunderstorm's updraft.
A supercell is a kind of thunderstorm cell. A thunderstorm cell consists of a convective unit with its own updraft and downdraft. A supercell is the most powerful type of storm cell with a strong, rotating updraft and distinct updraft and downdraft regions.
A tornado develops when the rotating updraft of a thunderstorm becomes focused on a smaller area. The updraft of the tornado draws air upwards, creating a center of low pressure.
Tornadoes take on a spiral shape because the winds in them spin and move upward. This is because tornadoes originate from the rotating updraft of a supercell thunderstorm. The updraft gets this rotation from wind shear.
A tornado forms when a mesocyclone, a powerful, rotating updraft found in some thunderstorms, tightens an intensifies. As a result, the tornado has a very powerful updraft that can lift objects off the ground.