Weather Reference - Tornadoes

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Tornadoes | Disclaimer

Tornadoes

A tornado is a violenty spinning vortex of air that extends from the base of a storm cloud to the ground. It is one of natures most destructive phenomena and is capable of generating winds up to 300mph, they may last for hours and travel hundreds of miles.

Tornadoes are more likely to occur in the middle latitude and can occur at any time of the year.

There are two signs to look for when assessing if a storm is severe enough to generate a tornado.

The first is the ‘overshoot' phenomena where the normally flat top of the storms anvil displays an ominous bulge, as this indicates that the upward rush of air near the centre of the storm is so powerful that it has ‘punched' through the troposphere, bubbling up into the stratosphere.

The second feature is an extensive and well defined mammatus formation.

A tornadoes movement can be erratic, creating a cycloid damage path.

Disclaimer

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