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This document discusses the formation of tornadoes. It begins by noting that tornadoes are one of the most destructive natural phenomena, with around 1300 occurring in the US each year, as estimated by experts. It then explains that Fujita scale was created in 1971 to grade tornado damage. The document goes on to state that tornadoes form from interactions between warm/moist air near the ground, dry cold air aloft, and warm dry air in between. Specifically, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico meets drier air from the Rockies at a boundary called the dry line, which then interacts with warm dry air, creating instability and wind shear in thunderstorms that can spawn tornadoes. Advances in instruments have improved

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73 views4 pages

Technical Description

This document discusses the formation of tornadoes. It begins by noting that tornadoes are one of the most destructive natural phenomena, with around 1300 occurring in the US each year, as estimated by experts. It then explains that Fujita scale was created in 1971 to grade tornado damage. The document goes on to state that tornadoes form from interactions between warm/moist air near the ground, dry cold air aloft, and warm dry air in between. Specifically, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico meets drier air from the Rockies at a boundary called the dry line, which then interacts with warm dry air, creating instability and wind shear in thunderstorms that can spawn tornadoes. Advances in instruments have improved

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Shaw 1

Brandon Shaw
Dr. Trogan
ENC 1102
3 March 2016

Formation of a tornado
Tornados are one of the most destructive natural weather phenomenons known to man.
The United States is home to more tornadoes than anywhere on planet earth, with most of the
tornados centered right in the heartland, a.k.a tornado alley. Although the exact number of
tornados that hit the U.S is unclear, experts estimate the number to be around 1300 per year. The
destructive power of these events can be catastrophic; damages include light damage to
completely devastate. T. Theodore Fujita created the fujita scale in 1971, the fujita scale was
made to grade each tornado upon the damage it has done to the area it hit, and the scale ranges
from F-0 with winds less than 73 MPH to F-5 with winds topping 300 MPH.

Tornados are a destructive force of nature with no way of stopping them, all we can do is
understand the science behind them so it can help us predict when they will hit and how far in
advanced of a warning we can give.

Shaw 2
Most tornados occur in the early spring to mid-summer in the warmest part of the day
between 4pm and 7pm, with occasional outbreaks in mid fall. The central plains of the United
States are home to most occurrences of tornados, they call this tornado alley. According to
wundergroud.com, scientists dont fully understand how tornados are formed; all they do know is
there has to be the right atmospheric conditions for a supercell thunderstorm to form in which
that has the possibility of producing a tornado. The image shown below gives look at the
structure of a supercell thunderstorm.

The conditions in which tornados are caused are when the jet stream dips south and three
different type of air masses meet in a specific way; you need warm/ moist humid air near the
ground, dry colder air which is in the upper layers of the atmosphere and warm dry air that
positions itself between the two. This image shows an example of how these air masses or
positioned.

Shaw 3
The humid air flows from a southerly direction from the Gulf of Mexico and meets with
the drier air that flows from a westward direction off the Rockies and where these two air masses
meet is called the dry line (the yellow line in the image above). The moisture, wind speed and
temperature difference with elevation causes instability within the atmosphere and at this dry line
the two air masses are met with a third air mass, warm dry air, which positions itself between the
two adding to the instability by warming the lower layer of air. Wind speed and wind direction
that change at different elevations is called wind shear, the image below gives an example of
directional change of the wind.

As this wind shear gets up into the supercell thunderstorm it creates a rolling motion in the
atmosphere which will eventually lead to the development of a tornado.

Shaw 4

All of these

ingredient are

necessary for the

development of

tornados, there has to

be a perfect mixture of

moisture, cold air, warm air and dry air. Although tornados are not fully understood, scientists
are constantly studying and experimenting to find out exactly how they are formed. Great
breakthroughs have been made using instruments that can read the atmospheric condition which
can tell us if the conditions are right for tornadic activity and we can now use these readings to
predict tornados and give an advanced warming the area with the greatest threat. As one of
natures greatest spectacles, tornados are a beautiful force of nature that has destructive force and
has baffled scientists for decades. Every year comes a new tornado season and a new chance for
us to better understand tornados.

Works Cited
"Tornado FAQ." The Science of Tornadoes. The Weather Company, LLC, n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2016.

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