Individual Study- Tornado's

8 Pages 1988 Words

dvancing cold air. A “low level jet” of warm, humid air blowing from the south only 3,000 to 5,000 feet above the ground helps feed the violent thunderstorms that can form tornadoes. Dry wind from the southwest around 10,000 feet from the ground helps add energy to thunderstorms. Finally, the dangerous kinds of thunderstorms known as supercells, an area of rotation within the storm, are to be formed under the area where jet stream winds are speeding up. Even though the jet stream is 25,000 feet or higher above the ground, it helps pull air upward, increasing the thunderstorms violence (Williams, 2000).
A tornado is only a tornado if it’s in contact with the ground. Otherwise, it’s a funnel. Some tornadoes don’t have a visible funnel, but if debris is visible at the ground, it is considered a tornado. Because big storms can suck up dust or kick up dust even when there’s no tornado, sometimes they can be confusing to observers. If there is rotation in the cloud above the dust, then it may very well be a tornado.
Another type of tornado is a waterspout- a tornado over water. Waterspouts form out of quickly growing cumulus (puffy) clouds or storms. They are sometimes weaker than their land cousins, but they can still cause damage or flip boats (Allaby, 1997). A dust devil, however, is not a tornado. If it’s a warm day, and light winds at the surface cooperate, you may see one of these whirling columns of dust in a farm field, or a parking lot.


HOW TORNADOES FORM

The National Sever Storm Labortory (NSSL, 2002) demonstrates before thunderstorms develop, a change in wind direction and an increas...