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Yes. Tornadoes are often made visble by condensation in their funnels and by dust and debris. However, some tornadoes may be obsured from view by rain or the dark of night.

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Do tornadoes never touch the ground?

Yes, tornadoes do touch the ground. If the don't they are not considered tornadoes. However, in order to qualify the visible funnel does not have to reach ground winds, just the vortex of wind.


Are all tornadoes visible?

No. Tornadoes may be obscured by rain or the dark of night. A tornado that forms in a pocket of dry air with little or no dust that can be picked up will likely be invisible until it hits moister air or starts lifting dust or debris.


What clouds appear when tornadoes occur?

Tornadoes typically form within cumulonimbus clouds, which are large and vertically developed clouds associated with thunderstorms. These clouds can have a distinct anvil shape and may exhibit features such as a rotating updraft known as a mesocyclone. However, tornadoes themselves are not visible until they make contact with the ground, at which point they can pick up debris and dust, creating a visible funnel cloud.


Does a tornado need a wall cloud?

No, some tornadoes will form without a wall cloud. In most cases there are of a variety called landspouts, which are tornadoes that do not form in association with the mesocyclone of a supercell. These tornadoes are typically weak, though on occasion have been known to cause damage as high as F3.


What cloud works with tornadoes?

Tornadoes develop during thunderstorms, which are associated with cumulonimbus clouds. Many will descned from a wall cloud at the base of a thunderstorm. The tornado itself may be visible as a funnel cloud.

Related Questions

Are tornadoes visible from space?

No. Tornadoes descend from severe thunderstorms. The view from above is blocked by the parent storm.


Do tornadoes never touch the ground?

Yes, tornadoes do touch the ground. If the don't they are not considered tornadoes. However, in order to qualify the visible funnel does not have to reach ground winds, just the vortex of wind.


Are all tornadoes visible?

No. Tornadoes may be obscured by rain or the dark of night. A tornado that forms in a pocket of dry air with little or no dust that can be picked up will likely be invisible until it hits moister air or starts lifting dust or debris.


Tornadoes are giant funnel clouds?

They are often visible as funnel clouds, but these clouds are not necessarily very large.


What clouds appear when tornadoes occur?

Tornadoes typically form within cumulonimbus clouds, which are large and vertically developed clouds associated with thunderstorms. These clouds can have a distinct anvil shape and may exhibit features such as a rotating updraft known as a mesocyclone. However, tornadoes themselves are not visible until they make contact with the ground, at which point they can pick up debris and dust, creating a visible funnel cloud.


Does a tornado need a wall cloud?

No, some tornadoes will form without a wall cloud. In most cases there are of a variety called landspouts, which are tornadoes that do not form in association with the mesocyclone of a supercell. These tornadoes are typically weak, though on occasion have been known to cause damage as high as F3.


What do tornadoes form before touching the ground?

A funnel cloud is typically visible before a tornado touches down


How do tornadoes get detected if they aren't always visible?

One method of detection is Doppler radar, which can detect the signature of a tornado.


What cloud works with tornadoes?

Tornadoes develop during thunderstorms, which are associated with cumulonimbus clouds. Many will descned from a wall cloud at the base of a thunderstorm. The tornado itself may be visible as a funnel cloud.


What are the characteristics of tornadoes?

Tornadoes are violent, rotating windstorms that connect to the base of a thunderstorm and to the ground. They are often made visible by a condensation funnel and debris cloud. Tornadoes can be very destructive. In extreme cases winds may exceed 300 mph (480 km/h). While they are more violent than other types of storm, tornadoes are also usually smaller and shorter-lived.


Do tornadoes only have one funnel?

Usually they do, but there are multivortex tornadoes. These have small vortices, almost like smaller tornadoes, circling inside the main circulation. Most of the time these vorticies are hidden inside the main funnel, but sometimes, if the humidity is right these smaller vorticies are visible as multiple funnels


What is the characteristic cloud of a tornado?

Tornadoes are often made visible by a funnel cloud, which forms as a result of the pressure drop inside the tornado.