A rotating cone shaped column of air extending downward from a cloud when it touches the ground it is called a tornado
Correct, it is a tornado.
That is the very definition of a tornado.
A rotating column of air is known as a whirlwind. If it is violent and connects to both the ground and the cloud base of a thunderstorm, it is considered a tornado.
When it touches the ground.
it becomes a tornado
Correct, it is a tornado.
That is the very definition of a tornado.
It is a tornado.
A rotating column of air is known as a whirlwind. If it is violent and connects to both the ground and the cloud base of a thunderstorm, it is considered a tornado.
tornado, as in the image above.
That description most closely matches a tornado.
That description most closely matches a tornado.
tornado clouds
Tornadoes are produced by thunderstorms. The circulation of a tornado starts within the clouds and extends downward until it touches down. The tornado does not stop at cloud base either, and can extend several miles up into the storm.
Before a tornado touches down it is called a funnel cloud, which looks like a tornado but does not reach the ground. A funnel cloud develops from the mesocyclone of a supercell thunderstorm. A supercell thunderstorm is characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone, which is a deep, continuously-rotating updraft.
A tornado that touches the ground is simply a tornado. Before it touches down it is called a funnel cloud.
tornado