Tornadoes have been recorded as narrow as 3 feet.
By the meteorological definition a tornado extends from cloud base to the ground. If it does not, it cannot produce damage. However, just because the visible funnel doesn't touch the ground doesn't mean the strong winds don't. It is the vortex of wind which defines a tornado, not the funnel.
A tornado is officially confirmed when a rotating column of air reaches the ground and makes contact with the surface. This contact creates the characteristic funnel cloud shape that is associated with tornadoes.
Yes. If a tornadic vortex does not make contact with the ground it does not meet the defintion of a tornado, and is simply called a funnel cloud. If the violent circulation (not necessarily the visible funnel) reaches the ground it is considered a tornado.
A tornado that touches the ground is simply a tornado. Before it touches down it is called a funnel cloud.
Before a tornado hits the ground, a rotating column of air forms in the storm cloud known as a funnel cloud. This funnel cloud extends towards the ground, and once it makes contact, the tornado is then officially considered to have touched down.
A tornado that does not touch the ground is a funnel cloud.
A funnel cloud that touches the ground is commonly known as a tornado.
A tornado that doesn't touch the ground isn't a tornado; it is a funnel cloud. However if the funnel is pulling debris off the ground or making some other type of contact with the ground it is a tornado.
A tornado often appears dark were it is touching the ground be cause the powerful winds of the tornado lift dirt from the ground.
The Tuscaloosa-Birmingham tornado of 2011 was on the ground for about 90 minutes.
The intensity of a tornado is rated based on damage done on the ground.
Not technically. It is the beginning of a tornado, but they are categorized differently. It is not considered a tornado until it reaches the ground with damaging winds.
Most of them touch down on ground.
When a tornado has not touched the ground yet, it is called a funnel cloud. A funnel cloud is a rotating cone-shaped cloud descending from the base of a thunderstorm but not reaching the ground. Once it touches the ground, it is classified as a tornado.
tornado clouds
A strong tornado that forms a cloud of dust when it makes contact with the ground is called a "dust devil." Dust devils are relatively small whirlwinds that occur in arid or semi-arid regions and are driven by intense heating at the surface creating updrafts. Unlike tornadoes, dust devils are not associated with thunderstorms.
True. A tornado is a rapidly rotating column of air that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground, and when it touches the ground it is then classified as a tornado. The funnel cloud is the visible condensation funnel attached to the rotating column of air but becomes a tornado once it touches the ground.