In order to understand how tornadoes form lets take a look at what a tornado is.
- A tornado is a rapidly rotating column of air that forms inside a storm and then connects to the ground causing a great deal of damage.
Tornadoes begin with a thunderstorm and are often associated with supercell thunderstorms, which often rise up to 50,000 into the atmosphere. Often times a supercell or thunderstorm can be very strong and never produce a tornado. So why is this? What is it about some storms that produce a thunderstorm when others don’t? We will take a look at the ingredients needed below for a thunderstorm to produce a tornado.
- The first thing needed in a thunderstorm to produce a tornado is rising air.
- Moisture is the next ingredient that is needed. In a thunderstorm moisture creates condensation, which creates heat and ultimately the more heat you have in a thunderstorm the quicker the air will rise. This combination creates a vortex know as a “mesocyclone”, which is a tall tube of spinning air.
- Cool Air is the next ingredient, which begins to wrap around the back of the mesocyclone, which is know as a “rear flank downdraft”. This helps to create a huge temperature difference from the areas inside and outside of the mesocyclone, which builds instability in the storm. As this process continues the rotation begins to get tighter an increase in wind speeds.
Tornadoes typically only last a few minutes, but can last upwards of an hour. Once the temperature difference becomes closer and the surrounding air becomes more stable a tornado will dissipate. This is what is currently known, but with tornadoes there are so many unknowns. That is why they are difficult to predict and we really don’t yet understand why some supercell will produce a tornado while others will not. Regardless SevereWXWarn offers the tools through our website and mobile apps to help your track severe weather and stay safe during storms.
