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The mechanics behind hurricanes and tornadoes are somewhat different, though the ultimate source of energy is them same. A hurricane starts out as a cluster of thunderstorms in the warm, moist air over tropical ocean water. As the air rises, it cools and the moisture condenses, releasing heat into the surrounding air, causing it to rise. The rising air creates low pressure that draws in more air, which supplies more energy to power the storms, causing the pressure to drop more. The cluster of storms gets stronger as this cycle continues. As the wind flowing into the system strengthens, it is influenced by earths rotation in what is called the Coriolis Effect, and begins to spiral into the storm system, which in turn starts to rotate. The rotation causes the thunderstorms to become more organized, allowing the system to gain energy more efficiently. If the cycle continues, the system will strengthen and organize into a hurricane.

Tornadoes are a product of thunderstorms, which are still fueled by warm moist air. However, in a tornadic storm the source of rotation is different. Individual storm cells are too small to be influenced by the Coriolis effect. In stead, the thunderstorm is impacted by wind shear, or differences in wind speed and direction with height. The wind shear sets the storm rotating, turning it into a supercell, with a rotating updraft called a mesocyclone. Eventually, a downdraft can wrap around the mesocyclone, causing it to tighten and intensify to produce a tornado. In another mechanism, broad, ground-level rotation can get caught in the updraft of a developing thunderstorm, causing it to tighten and intensify into a kind of tornado called a landspout, Such tornadoes are generally weaker than their supercell-spawned cousins.

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