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Because warm and cold air alone won't produce the rotation needed for a tornado. First, the warm air mass must be moist so that when the collision occurs thunderstorms form.

Second, the speed and/or direction of the wind must vary with altitude in what is called wind shear. This tilts thunderstorms, separating the updraft from the downdraft and thus allowing them to become stronger last last longer.

Second, the wind shear creates rolling air masses that can start the thunderstorms rotating.

Under the right conditions a tornado can develop from this rotation. How exactly this happens is not fully understood.

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Can snow occur during a tornado?

It is very rare for snow to occur during a tornado. Tornadoes are associated with warm and moist conditions, whereas snow typically requires colder temperatures. However, in extremely rare cases where intense cold air meets warm, moist air, there is a very small chance for snow to occur during a tornado.


What will happen if your breath is warm and the air is cold?

When warm breath meets cold air, condensation may occur, leading to the formation of water droplets or frost. This is why you can sometimes see your breath in the cold.


Where do tornadoes happen the most and why?

Tornadoes happen most in the United States in a place called 'Tornado Alley'. They mostly happen there because of the air. Tornado Alley is in the middle of the United States. So cold air from higher up in the world comes down and meets hot, humid air from down lower by the Equator. That hot air comes up and that's how the two airs meet. Then they form tornadoes.


In simple terms how is atorndo formed?

A tornado forms when warm, moist air meets cold, dry air, creating unstable atmospheric conditions. This can lead to the formation of a rotating column of air, which extends from a thunderstorm cloud to the ground. The spinning motion causes the tornado to touch down and move across the landscape with destructive force.


How do tornadoes stop?

It is not fully understood about how exactly tornadoes form, grow and die. Tornado researchers are still trying to solve the tornado puzzle, but for every piece that seems to fit they often uncover new pieces that need to be studied. However, current knowledge indicates that a tornado usually dissipates when cold air undercuts the updraft of the tornado's parent thunderstorm. This causes the updraft to weaken until it can no longer support a tornado.

Related Questions

What happens when rapidly falling cold air meets rapidly rising hot air?

A tornado forms


What happen when cold air meets hot air?

well it usually makes a thunder Storm


What is it called when cold air meets warm air?

When cold air meets warm air, it is known as a temperature contrast or a temperature boundary. This can lead to the formation of weather phenomena such as fronts, which are boundaries between air masses with different temperature and humidity characteristics.


Can a tornado happen in antarctica?

No. It is too cold in Antarctica for tornadoes.


Can snow occur during a tornado?

It is very rare for snow to occur during a tornado. Tornadoes are associated with warm and moist conditions, whereas snow typically requires colder temperatures. However, in extremely rare cases where intense cold air meets warm, moist air, there is a very small chance for snow to occur during a tornado.


When can a tornado happen?

A tornado can happen when the wind spins in a circle, wind spins around near and during a thunderstorm, and when hot and cold air meet. Most tornadoes happen May - August, summer for most people. But be aware, tornadoes can happen any time, anywhere, and in any thunderstorm or hurricane


Is a tornado cold or hot air?

Tornadoes typically form in a warm air mass, as that is what provides the energy, though it is often near a boundary with a cooler or drier air mass. However, due tot he pressure drop the air in a tornado is cooler than its surroundings.


What will happen if your breath is warm and the air is cold?

When warm breath meets cold air, condensation may occur, leading to the formation of water droplets or frost. This is why you can sometimes see your breath in the cold.


Where do tornadoes happen the most and why?

Tornadoes happen most in the United States in a place called 'Tornado Alley'. They mostly happen there because of the air. Tornado Alley is in the middle of the United States. So cold air from higher up in the world comes down and meets hot, humid air from down lower by the Equator. That hot air comes up and that's how the two airs meet. Then they form tornadoes.


What will happen When a cold air mass meets a warm air mass?

The warm air mass is pushed up and the weather becomes cool and stormy.


In simple terms how is atorndo formed?

A tornado forms when warm, moist air meets cold, dry air, creating unstable atmospheric conditions. This can lead to the formation of a rotating column of air, which extends from a thunderstorm cloud to the ground. The spinning motion causes the tornado to touch down and move across the landscape with destructive force.


What happens before a tornado occurs?

Before a tornado occurs, the atmosphere needs to be unstable, with warm, moist air at the surface and cold, dry air aloft. Wind shear is also crucial, as it creates the rotation necessary for a tornado to form. Storm systems or supercell thunderstorms often provide the ideal conditions for tornado development.