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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.
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoTo start off, the warm air cold air are not the direct cause of tornadoes. When cold air plows into warm air, it forces the warm air up causing the moisture in it to condense and form thunderstorms. Given a few other conditions these storms can produce tornadoes.
These thunderstorms usually form in association with a low pressure system. In the northern hemisphere such a system rotates counter clockwise, pulling cold air down from the north and warm air from the south, eventually forcing the two together. This is reversed in the Southern Hemisphere.
Wiki User
∙ 9y agoThey don't. The collision of warm and cold air can trigger thunderstorms, but does not directly cause tornadoes. When cool air pushes into a warm air mass, it forms a cold front. Since cool air is denser than warm air, it forces the warm air up, acting as a sort of wedge. If the warm air mass is unstable enough, this lift will trigger thunderstorms. Given an adequate supply of moisture these storms can become very severe. If there is the right setup of wind shear, or winds changing speed and direction with altitude, these storms can begin to rotate, becoming supercells. Under the right conditions a downdraft may wrap around the rotating area of the supercell, called a mesocyclone, can cause it to tighten, intensify, and extend toward the ground to form a tornado.
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoWhen a cold air mass pushes into hot air it forms something called a cold front. Since cold air is denser that hot air, the cold air mass acts as a wedge that lifts the hot air. If the warm air is unstable enough this lifting will lead to the formation of thunderstorms, which are powered by the warm air. Given a few other factors such as strong lower level wind shear these storm may go on to produce tornadoes.
Wiki User
∙ 9y agoThere are a few things wrong here. First, what you generally want are a warm, moist air mass and a cool, dry air mass. Warm, moist air is needed to supply the energy. Even then, this scenario is oversimplified. The collision of these two air masses does not cause tornadoes; it causes thunderstorms. Given a few other conditions, these storms may go on to produce tornadoes.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoThat is a common but oversimplified explanation. A collision of warm and cold air occurs thunderstorms can develop, but another element, called wind shear is needed to make a storm tornadic.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoIndirectly. A collision of a warm and cold air mass often produces thunderstorms. Given a few other factors such as something called wind shear these thunderstorms can produce tornadoes.
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Do hot air and cold air make a tornado?
Not directly. When a cold air mass plows into a warm air mass it produces a cold front. Thunderstorms can form along cold fronts. Given a few other conditions these thunderstorms can produce tornadoes.
Can a tornado form without a thunderstorm?
No, a tornado cannot form without a thunderstorm. A tornado needs the crossing winds of two air masses to provide rotation in order for a tornado to form. Tornadoes do not form from convection thunderstorms, but only from air mass thunderstorms.
When warm air is lifted up over the cold air it is called?
tornado
Are tornadoes usually formed in tornado ally?
Yes the majority of tornadoes happen in tornado alley. However it is not because tornado alley is generally flatter then the rest of the US. It has to do with the warm air from the Gulf of Mexico meeting the cold air from Canada in that region that causes tornadoes to mainly form there.
Is a tornado torsion?
Yes. When a tornado forms, hot and cold air come together. They spiral around each other at a great speed, which is known as torsion.
What is the main reason tornadoes form?
When cold air and hot air mix together it forms a tornado.
Do a tornado form when a funnel of cold air quickly rises from the earth?
No. Tornadoes form in an environment where warm air rises quickly. Cold air will resist rising and will tend to prevent tornadoes from forming.
What human activities can increase or worsen the impact of a tornado?
Humans can not effect a tornado. Only nature can make a tornado occur. The cold and hot air curl together and form the tornado.
Where does cold air come from that produces a tornado?
The thunderstorms that produce tornadoes often form along cold fronts, when a old air mass pushes into a warm air mass. The cold front develops when a low pressure system (which rotates counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere) pulls cold air from the north. For U.S. storm systems this cold air is pulled down from Canada.
What two air masses would most likely form a tornado when they meet?
A cold air mas moving into a warm air mass will create a cold front. It is along a cold front that the severe thunderstorms that can produce tornadoes most often form.
Do hot air and cold air make a tornado?
Not directly. When a cold air mass plows into a warm air mass it produces a cold front. Thunderstorms can form along cold fronts. Given a few other conditions these thunderstorms can produce tornadoes.
Are tornado winds cold?
It all depends on where and when the tornado occurs, and what the actual temperature is in the area. Most tornadoes form ahead of a boundary where cold air plows into warm air called a cold front. Generally the warmer, and moister the air mass the better chance there is of a tornado forming. Because tornadoes generally form in the rear portion of a thunderstorm the air may be somewhat cooler than in the rest of the warm air mass. Inside the tornado itself there will be another temperature drop due to decompression. So a tornado is generally cooler than its surroundings, but is will still tend to be relatively warm. That said, tornadoes can occasionally form in fairly cool air, in which case the winds would definitely cold, especially with wind shill factored in.
How can a tornado form in space?
Tornadoes cannot form in space. A tornado is a vortex of air. There is no air in space.
What is it called when cold air meets warm air?
tornado
Is a cold front a tornado?
No. A cold front is a boundary between two large-scale air masses where a cold air mass pushes into and displaces a warmer air mass. Thunderstorms often form along cold fronts, and these storms occasionally produce tornadoes.
What does cold and hot air make?
it makes a tornado
Where does the hot air and cold air come from in a tornado?
Warm anc cold air colliding are not a direct cause of tornadoes, but they can be a step in the process. where they come from depends on the region the weater system is in. But normally the warm air comes from a warm part of the ocean while the cold air comes from a cold region. In the Central United States, for example, the warm air comes from the Gulf of Mexico while the cold air comes from Canada.
