• Question: How do tornadoes form?

    Asked by 362evnb33 to Adam, Thad, Thomas on 18 Mar 2015.
    • Photo: Thomas Clements

      Thomas Clements answered on 18 Mar 2015:

      A tornado normally forms in association with thunderstorms!

      When warm air full of moisture meets cold dry air, they create instability in the atmosphere with the warm air trying to rise and the cold air trying to fall. the air begins to mix chaotically until winds are produced, forcing the air to start to rotate. As the wind increases the air is sucked back upward, creating an updraft. As this circular updraft reduces in diameter it increases in power, creating a funnel – a bit like what happens when you remove the plug from a bath tub full of water.

      The funnel gets faster and faster and increases in size until it touches the floor and a tornado is formed. A hurricane is the same principle, except normally out at sea.

      Interestingly this process is not yet fully understood, so maybe yo could become a tornado scientist and study it????

    • Photo: anon

      anon answered on 19 Mar 2015:

      I used to live in Oklahoma, which is part of Tornado Alley in the USA – the place where tornadoes are most common. And as Thomas says there are particular weather conditions that help form tornadoes.

      So we would notice them a lot more in summer when there were lots more thunderstorms and really hot, humid weather for all the warm air that starts off the swirling process.

      But actually I was mostly too afraid of them to bother listening to the science about them – I find them much more interesting now 😉

    • Photo: Thaddeus Aid

      Thaddeus Aid answered on 19 Mar 2015:

      Hi,

      It looks like my friends gave you some really good answers.

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