What is a Tornado?
A violently rotating column of air, in contact with the ground, that must be ranked high among nature’s most destructive forces
It’s sporadic occurrence and violent winds cause many deaths each year
Tornadoes can last for seconds or close to an hour and maximum winds can sometimes approach 480km per hour
Tornado development and occurrence in USA
Tornado forms in Thunderstorms which develop in warm, moist air in advance of eastward-moving cold fronts
Usually the most intense tornadoes are those that form in association with huge thunderstorms called supercells.
An important precondition linked to tornado formation in serve thunderstorms is the development of a mesocyclone – is a vertical cylinder of rotating air, typically about 3-10km across.…
