Tornado

From Environmental Technology

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     A tornado is "a violently rotating column of air, pendant from a cumuliform cloud or underneath a cumuliform cloud, and often (but not always) visible as a funnel cloud."
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     A tornado is "a violently rotating column of air, pendant from a cumuliform cloud or underneath a cumuliform cloud, and often (but not always) visible as a funnel cloud." A vortex has to be in contant with the ground and cloud base to be classified as a tornado. The most damaging and/or deadly tornadoes come from supercells.  Supercells are rotating thunderstorms with a well-defined radar circulation that is called a mesocyclone. Tornado formation is believed to be based mainly on things which happen in and around the mesocyclone.

Revision as of 20:33, 24 February 2006

   A tornado is "a violently rotating column of air, pendant from a cumuliform cloud or underneath a cumuliform cloud, and often (but not always) visible as a funnel cloud." A vortex has to be in contant with the ground and cloud base to be classified as a tornado. The most damaging and/or deadly tornadoes come from supercells.  Supercells are rotating thunderstorms with a well-defined radar circulation that is called a mesocyclone. Tornado formation is believed to be based mainly on things which happen in and around the mesocyclone.
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