Tornadoes

The tornado itself is a spinning column of rising air. They usually form froma large rotating column of air called a mesocyclone.

A tornado does not always have an eye. When it does it can be about a quarter of the width of the funnel.

Yes. Arizona actually averages about 4 tornadoes per year, though almost all are weak. One of the most significant events occurred on October 6, 2010 when 8 tornadoes touched down, including 4 EF2 tornadoes and an EF3 tornado.

The rapid drop in pressure inside a tornado could put stress on the lungs and make it harder to breathe. Additionally, some people may feel like they have trouble breathing if they are panicked.

Tornadoes are likely to occur when a storm system drives a cool air mass and a dry air mass into a very warm, moist one, producing thunderstorms. A layer of stable air called a cap holds back storm development at first allowing instability to build, then the strongest storms break the cap and grow at explosive rates. They then encounter wind shear, where the wind speed increases and wind direction rotates counterclockwise (or clockwise in the southern hemisphere) with height. This sets the storms rotating. The rotation in these severe storms, called supercells, can then go on to produce tornadoes

That is not known. Official statistics say there are about 2,000 tornadoes in the world per year, but the actual number of tornadoes is probably much higher. Many countries do not keep record of their tornadoes and so only ones that cause major damage become known. Many tornadoes that occur in unpopulated areas go unnoticed.

The three states that have the most tornadoes are Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. These states are part of what is known as "Tornado Alley," a region in the central United States with a high frequency of tornado activity.

A tornado does not have a spiral shape or appearance (except in some cases where helical subvortices form), but the winds in and near a tornado move in a spiral fashion.

Not always. The funnel is only the portion of the tornado that is visible. The winds of a tornado at ground level may still be capable of causing significant damage even if the visible funnel does not reach ground level. When this occurs it is usually evidenced by swirling dust or debris beneath the funnel. That is usually enough to report a tornado. Oftentimes, though, the funnel does touch the ground in which case there is definitely a tornado. Also of note is that sometimes you have a funnel that does not produce damaging winds on the ground. These are not counted in tornado statistics.

Daytime occurs when the Earth rotates on its axis, causing the side facing the Sun to experience daylight. As the Earth spins, different parts of the planet are exposed to sunlight, creating the cycle of day and night.

Kansas is located in the region known as "Tornado Alley," which stretches across the central United States and is prone to frequent tornado activity. Additionally, the flat terrain and varying weather patterns in Kansas create favorable conditions for the formation of tornadoes, leading to the state's reputation for experiencing severe storms and tornadoes.

Tornadoes typically move in a northeasterly direction, although their paths can vary. Meteorologists use weather forecasting tools to track tornado movement and issue warnings to areas that may be affected. It is important to stay informed through official sources during severe weather events.

Tornado's originate when a front of cold air meets with a front of warm or hot air in the atmosphere, creating a cyclone. Which may or may not touch down to the surface of the earth. It depends on how fast the two groups of ir were moving when they collided. This is why most tornado's occur in hurricane-type settings, which contain extremely fast winds.

Tornadoes can occur in many parts of the world, not just in Tornado Alley in the central United States. They can form in any region where the right atmospheric conditions are present, although Tornado Alley does have a higher frequency of tornadoes.

A tornado is a natural weather phenomenon caused by a combination of atmospheric conditions such as warm, moist air colliding with cold, dry air. While human activities can influence weather patterns, tornadoes themselves are not caused by human actions.

A tornado warning is related to weather. It is issued by weather authorities when a tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar. Climate refers to long-term patterns in temperature, precipitation, and other elements.

It's hot air from the mexican golf that meets cold air from north America or Canada, when that happens it Will make turbulence and break into tornados :) every year about 750 tornadoes break out in the middle- and southstates

Dust devils are common wherever there are wide expanses of flat, open land, with exposed areas having little vegetation to protect the soil and sand. Crosswinds whip across these areas, causing the formation of miniature tornadoes which can, in fact, grow quite large. Dust devils are found on all continents except for Antarctica, and are known by different names. In Australia, for example, they are commonly called willy-willies.

Yes, supercell thunderstorms are capable of producing tornadoes. The rotating updraft within a supercell can lead to the development of mesocyclones, which are conducive to tornado formation. The presence of favorable atmospheric conditions in a supercell thunderstorm increases the likelihood of tornado development.

A funnel cloud occurs when a rotating column of air extends from a thunderstorm cloud but does not touch the ground. It typically forms in a severe thunderstorm with the right atmospheric conditions, such as wind shear and instability. Funnel clouds can potentially develop into tornadoes if the rotation reaches the ground.

This applies mostly to tornadoes that form in mid-latitudes in the northern hemisphere, which includes the continental United States, where the greatest percentage of tornadoes form.

The winds in these latitudes generally travel form southwest to northeast, taking any storms with them. Tornadoes can move in different directions however. This stems largely from the fact that the large-scale storm systems that most tornadoes form in rotate counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere, and while most form in the southeast quadrant of the system, they can form in other parts as well.

No, tornadoes typically form in severe thunderstorms, not cyclones. Cyclones are large rotating weather systems that develop over warm ocean waters and can bring strong winds and rain, but tornadoes are more commonly associated with severe thunderstorms in a different type of weather system.

The main tool used for track tornadoes is doppler radar, which can measure wind speeds remotely. It can detect the signature of a tornado or the circulation from which one may form. However, doppler radar cannot determine whether or not a tornado is actually on the ground. For that trained weather spotters go out and report any tornado sightings.

No, tornadoes usually form over land, not above warm ocean water. The conditions that lead to tornado formation typically involve warm, moist air near the surface interacting with cooler, drier air aloft. Thunderstorms on land are the main source from which tornadoes develop.

To a large degree supercells form under the same conditions that form other thunderstorms. Usually that involves a cool, dry air mass plowing into a warm, moist one. The warm moist air is force upwards, causing it to cool and the moisture in it to condense, forming clouds and rain. This process only serves to further power the storm, as the condensation releases enormous amounts of energy. The updraft (upward moving air current) of the thunderstorm continues to feed it a supply of warm moist air. At the same time the rain starts to pull air down, creating a downdraft.

In a normal thunderstorm, the downdraft chokes off the updraft, eventually killing the thunderstorm. Supercells are different; they form in an environment of strong vertical wind shear, where there is a significant difference between the speed and direction of the wind at different altitudes. This tilts the entire storm, separating the updraft and downdraft into different areas, which prevents them from interfering with each other. The wind shear also sets the storm rotating, particularly in the updraft portion, which is usually in the rear part of the storm.

This rotating updraft is called a mesocyclone, and it is from this that a tornado may form. How this happens is not fully understood, but there is a leading theory. As the supercell gets stronger the bottom part of the mesocyclone intensifies, creating an area of low pressure. This triggers a downdraft, called a rear-flank downdraft or RFD to descend from behind the mesocyclone and wrap around the bottom portion of it. This causes the circulation to tighten, intensify, and extend towards the ground, producing a tornado.