Tornadoes

No. While tornadoes and lightning often occur at the same time a tornado cannot be made of lighting, nor are the two directly related. A tornado is a vortex of air; lighting is an electrical discharge.

No. That is a myth. The fast-moving winds and flying debris of a tornado are what destroy houses.

The pressure difference produced by a tornado is not enough to cause significant damage, and is equalized pretty quickly anyway.

When a tornado goes over a hill, its intensity can fluctuate. The wind speeds may increase on the uphill side and decrease on the downhill side due to the change in terrain elevation. Additionally, the tornado may change direction or path as it interacts with the hilly terrain.

No, a tornado's strong winds and debris pose a greater risk to those caught in it rather than suffocation. The rapid changes in air pressure and destructive winds can cause significant harm, but suffocation is not a common cause of injury in tornadoes. It's important to seek shelter in a safe place if a tornado is approaching.

Yes, a strong enough definitely can pick up houses and other heavy objects like cars, but such massive ejects are usually ejected from the vortex after a few seconds. Lighter objects, such as small tree branches, roof tiles, and pieces of siding may stay suspended for longer. In some cases pieces of cloth and paper have been carried into the upper atmosphere where high altitude winds can carry them for hours.

It isn't. The safest place during a tornado is a basement or cellar. However a shower or bathtub is probably the next safes place for a few reasons. First, bathrooms tend to be smaller than other rooms, making it less likely that the walls will collapse. Additionally, the walls may be reinforced somewhat by the plumbing. Finally, the bathtub itself provides another layer of protection from debris.

No. The highest wind speeds in a tornado are estimated to be a little over 300 mph (480 km/h).

Contrary to popular belief, most tornadoes are not so destructive. Most tornadoes may cause some roof damage or toppled a few trees but aren't strong enough to do much more.

Those tornadoes that do destroy much of what is in their path have winds in the range of 170 mph or more, and in some cases as high as 300 mph. When winds get above 200 mph they carry such force that virtually nothing can withstand them. When buildings are destroyed pieces of them become high-speed projectiles that add further to the destructive potential as wooded beams in some cases travel fast enough to penetrate brick walls.

Most tornadoes are weak and relatively small, and thus rather unstable so outflow from the parent thunderstorm can easily disrupt them. Strong tornadoes, which can be said to be better established, can last 20 minutes or more, sometimes over an hour. But even then a thunderstorm can only maintain conditions for producing ans sustaining tornadoes for a limited period.

Probably not. Tornadoes have been known to take the feathers off chickens, but that is partially the result of something called stress molt, where the feathers of a frightened bird come loose. Tornadoes have also been known to strip the bark from trees, but those are stationary objects, and a tornado strong enough to do that would simply blow a cow away rather than taking off its fur.

However, if a piece of debris where to hit a cow at a high speed it might take some of the skin off, which would take fur with it.

When looking at storm relative velocity, the signature of a tornado, or at least the mesocyclone that produces it will show up as a bright green area next to a bright red area in a relatively small part of the image. This means that strong winds blowing toward the radar are right next to strong winds blowing away from it, indicating a strong rotation.

On a reflectivity image there will often be a hook shape on the radar image, showing where the mesocyclone is pulling the rain around.

See the link below for an example.

Note that these are not what images of the tornado itself looks like, but rather the mesocyclone that produces the tornado. Also note that not all tornadoes have such features on radar, and not all such features correspond to tornadoes.

Tornadoes can reach speeds of up to 300 mph (480 km/h) in extreme cases, typically causing catastrophic damage in their path.

A tornado can form in a matter of minutes and usually lasts a few minutes. Some last just a few seconds while in rare cases a tornado may last few a few hours. A tornado is usually not over any given spot for more than a few second, but a large and/or slow moving one may impact a given location for several minutes.

That is highly variable and there is no single answer. A small but intense tornado can rotate 60 or more times in a minute. At the other end a very large tornado might not even complete a full rotation in a minute, at least on the outside. This if further complicated by the fact that a tornado usually spins faster near its center than at its edges.

There are a number of factors. First, the zone of very destructive winds in a tornado can be very small, so that while the winds in a small portion of some tornadoes can deal a great deal of damage, the area just beyond it might only cause moderate damage. This is especially true of multiple vortex tornadoes, which have smaller vortices (almost like mini tornadoes) inside the main vortex. These vortices can pack winds up to 100 mph faster than the rest of the tornado, which can mean the difference between a house being completely destroyed or just losing part of its roof.

How well-built a house is can also be a factor.

Tornado wind speeds can vary greatly, but they typically spin at speeds between 110 to 300 mph (177 to 483 km/h) at the surface. However, some tornadoes have been known to reach speeds of over 300 mph.

Yes, the Fujita scale measures the intensity of a tornado based on the damage it causes. It rates tornadoes on a scale from F0 (weakest) to F5 (strongest) based on the estimated wind speeds and extent of damage.

Meteorologists use weather radar, such as Doppler radar, to detect tornadoes. These instruments can detect rotation within storms, which can indicate the presence of a tornado. In addition, storm spotters on the ground can visually spot tornadoes and report them to the National Weather Service.

Tornadoes can move in any direction, but on average they travel from southwest to northeast in the United States. The specific path a tornado takes is influenced by various factors such as wind patterns, topography, and storm dynamics.

Tornadoes are typically associated with heavy rainfall, hail, and sometimes lightning. The strong updrafts within a tornado can cause water droplets to be lifted into the cloud where they freeze and form hailstones.

It depends on the tornado. In most tornadoes the strongest winds are near the center. In multivortex tornadoes, however, the strongest winds are in the subvorticies, which are almost like smaller tornadoes within a larger one.

Pressing the F5 key typically refreshes the content on your screen, such as a web page or document. This action can be useful if you want to see any changes that have been made since the last time you viewed the content.

Both thunderstorms and tornadoes are severe weather events that are capable of producing strong winds and heavy rain. They are both associated with thunder and lightning, and can cause damage to structures and the environment.

Hurricanes produce large waves, heavy rain, and extensive flooding, all of which can cause severe erosion, especially along coasts.

Tornadoes, especially strong ones can lift large amounts of soil into the air and pull vegetation from the ground, leaving the soil vulnerable to further erosion.

Tornadoes can vary in intensity, with wind speeds ranging from 65 mph for weak tornadoes to over 200 mph for violent tornadoes. The Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF-Scale) categorizes tornadoes from EF0 (weakest) to EF5 (strongest), based on observed damage and wind speeds. The most powerful tornadoes (EF4 and EF5) can cause catastrophic damage, leveling well-built houses and even lifting heavy objects like cars and trains.