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How did the tornado occur in Alaska?
There have been several tornadoes in Alaska, all of which have occurred in the southern part of the state. Tornadoes are a product of strong thunderstorms, which require an unstable atmosphere. Instability occurs with a warm, moist lower atmosphere. Because of the cold climate, tornadoes are exceedingly rare in Alaska. But, contrary to popular belief, Alaska is not always cold. Temperatures have occasionally risen has high as the 90s with warm air masses surging up from the south. Such conditions could support thunderstorms and tornadoes.
Can a tornado go uphill?
Yes. Tornadoes can go up and down hills largely unhindered.
Why do you have a tornado season?
There are a number of factors that lead to tornado season, which is primarily in the spring. This occurs because in the spring the lower atmosphere heats up while the upper atmosphere remains cold, creating instability that can lead to thunderstorms. Additionally, incursions of cold air from higher latitudes create fronts that can trigger thunderstorms. These thunderstorms can then go on to produce tornadoes.
How does spring air form tornadoes?
There are several factors as to why spring is conducive to tornadoes. First, during the spring the earth is heating up. As a result the lower atmosphere heats up faster than the upper atmosphere. This leads to increased instability, making conditions ripe for strong thunderstorms. Second, there are large temperature contrasts that power large-scale weather systems and produce strong fronts. These fronts act as a trigger for severe thunderstorms which can spawn tornadoes. Finally, during the spring the upper levels winds are still strong from winter. The strong upper level winds produce strong wind shear, which gives thunderstorms the rotation they need to produce tornadoes. Tornadoes can form at any time of year, but conditions are rarely as ideal as they are in the spring.
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.
Why is a tornado created by both warn front and cold front?
Tornadoes are not formed by the meeting of a cold front and a warm front. There is a bit of confusion here. Tornadoes commonly form where warm and cold air masses collide. Most often along a cold front. In a cold front a cooler air mass pushes into a warmer one. Since cold air is denser than warm air, the warm air mass gets forced up. If this air mass is warm enough and moist enough this upward motion can trigger the formation of strong thunderstorms. If other conditions are right, then those storms may go on to produce tornadoes.
What type of front can create violent thunder storms and even tornadoes?
A cold front colliding with a warm front can create severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. The cold, dense air pushes up the warm, moist air, leading to strong thunderstorms and the potential for tornado formation.
Why do tires seem to go flat when the weather gets cold?
Cold air takes up less space than warm air
Does cold air go up or down in a room?
Cold air tends to sink and move downwards in a room, while warm air rises and moves upwards.
What is the direction of warm air and cold air?
Warm air rises because it is less dense than cold air, creating convection currents. Cold air sinks because it is denser than warm air. This movement of air creates weather patterns and influences temperature gradients in the atmosphere.
What causes the warm air ahead of a cold front to rise?
Cold air is more dense than warm air. If flows beneath the warm air and forces it to rise.When air warms up, it expands a little, and so it becomes less dense. Density is the ratio of mass to volume. Within a fixed volume, there will be less mass (less air) in a sample of warmer air than there will be in a sample of cooler air. The less dense air floats above the cooler air. This is why hot air balloons will rise.
Where does the hot and cold air that form a tornado come from?
The collision of warm and cold air is not the direct cause of a tornado, nor is it absolutely necessary. When a cold air mass pushes into a warm air mass (this is called a cold front) the warmer, less dense air is forced upwards. As the air rises it cools and the moisture in it condenses to form clouds, rain, and thunderstorms. If other factors such as strong wind shear (a change in the wind speed and direction with altitude) are present these storms may begin to rotate. This rotation can then develop into tornadoes.
Would a warm front or cold front bring hail and tornadoes?
Contrary to the common layperson's explanation, tornadoes are not triggered by the collision of a warm front and a cold front. This is based on a misreading of the statement that tornadoes form from a collision of warm and cold air masses along a cold front, which is itself an oversimplification. The front itself does not directly trigger tornadoes. When a warm and cold air mass collide, the warm air is forced up because it is less dense. If this warmer air mass is unstable enough, the collision can trigger strong thunderstorms. This is a very common occurrence, and most of the resulting storms will not produce tornadoes. If the storms are strong enough and wind conditions are right, these storms may then develop the strong rotation needed to produce tornadoes.
What is the classic answer for how tornadoes form and why it is wrong?
The classic answer for how tornado form states that warm and cold air come together and swirl up, or something to that effect. Many tornadoes are associated with cold fronts (where cooler air pushes into warmer air) and on occasion are associated with warm fronts (where cold air retreats and warm air comes in. However the front is not the direct cause of the tornado. The front lifts the warmer air which, if there is enough instability, can trigger thunderstorms. Given a few other conditions such as wind shear these storms can start to rotate and potentially produce tornadoes. However, these storms do not necessarily form along a warm or cold front. Many tornadic thunderstorms form along a dry line, where dry air pushes into moist air with relatively little temperature difference. In fact a dry line is often better at producing tornadic storms than a cold front is. Tornadoes can also form in the thunderstorms generated by tropical cyclones (hurricanes, tropical storms etc.) where there are no notable boundaries such as those discussed above. On rare occasions tornadoes can form with thunderstorms that develop in the absence of an organized system. However such tornadoes are short lived and weak.
Why are April's tornadoes the most violent?
Aprils tornadoes are most violent because that is when there are the most violent collisions of air masses that can produce potentially tornadic thunderstorms. Additionally, at this time of year the lower atmosphere is warming up, but the upper atmosphere remains cold from the winter. Cool air on top of warm air is an unstable condition that can trigger thunderstorms.
Do convection currents push warm air down and cold air up?
Warm air naturally goes up/rises and cold air has to make a current where it can go until it reaches a warm current which is under the warm air.
What happens to warm air as it takes over a cold air mass?
As warm air takes over a cold air mass, it rises above the colder air because it is less dense. This rising warm air can lead to the formation of clouds and precipitation, creating weather systems such as fronts and storms.
