It is believed that when cold air in the upper layers presses down on hot air below, the hot air is forcefully pushed upward.
Tornadoes develop from thunderstorms, often from very strong or super strong storm systems. Therefore, where there are severe thunderstorms, tornadoes can occur, although they are quite rare. Sometimes they form from strong wind gusts (known as squall lines) or from a cyclone. It is thought that when cold air in the upper layers presses down on the hot air below, the hot air will be forcefully lifted. However, when tornadoes occur over water, convection is often not observed, and there isn’t a noticeable temperature difference between the layers. Thus, the exact causes of tornadoes are not yet fully understood by scientists.
Nevertheless, most tornadoes are formed from a special type of thunderstorm known as electrically charged thunderclouds. A single cloud can last several hours, rotate within a diameter of 10 to 16 kilometers, travel hundreds of miles, and generate numerous massive funnels.
Their origin lies in climates where warm air rises and cold air descends. Initially, there is an interaction between an upward-moving thunderstorm and the winds. This interaction causes the warm air layer below to rise and rotate in the atmosphere. Subsequently, cold air develops and moves downward to the ground on the opposite side of the storm. The speed of this descending air can exceed 160 km/h.
Tornado combined with lightning.
The diameter of tornadoes can vary from several dozen meters to several kilometers, but most tornadoes have a diameter of about 50 meters. As they move, they can pick up (and later drop) or destroy everything in their path, including sturdy brick houses, making tornadoes a particularly dangerous meteorological phenomenon. The sound of a tornado is often a continuous rumble, similar to the sound of a train approaching. Sometimes, tornadoes produce loud noises comparable to the sound of rushing waterfalls or the sound of car windows being blown out when a vehicle is traveling at high speed. From a distance, tornadoes may appear black or white, depending on what they pick up. When a tornado forms over the ocean, it can create waterspouts that often lift water and debris high into the air, forming water columns weighing several tons.
Between 2000 and 2013, the United States alone recorded numerous tornadoes that caused significant damage to life and property.
Tornadoes recorded from 2000 to 2013.
