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TORNADOES. Conditions for formation. Heat Moisture Conditionally unstable environment Vertical wind shear. Wizard of OZ. Tornadoes. Local storms with violent winds that take the form of a rotating column of Air that extends from a cumulonimbus cloud.
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TORNADOES Conditions for formation Heat Moisture Conditionally unstable environment Vertical wind shear Wizard of OZ
Tornadoes Local storms with violent winds that take the form of a rotating column of Air that extends from a cumulonimbus cloud. • Form in association with severe T-storms • Interaction between strong updrafts • And winds in the troposphere MESOCYCLONE: precondition For intense tornadoes
Tornadoes Inflow and Outflow convergence rapidly increases into Updraft and Wall cloud
The first observable step in tornado formation is the slow, horizontal rotation (a) of a large segment of the cloud which begins deep within the cloud interior. The resulting large vortices are called mesocyclones. Under the right conditions, strong updrafts cause the horizontal vortex of air to be tilted upward (b).
Tornadoes 2 Ways for formation 1. Top-down process “dynamic pipe effect” • Air beneath wall cloud is • Stretched by the updrafts • Within Stretched column of • Air the flow is constricted • Leading to a tighter vortex • Continues until tornado • touches the ground
Tornadoes 3 Ways for formation 2. Bottom-up process This spinning air is tilted in the vertical As it moves under the updrafts of the storm Near its base Vertical wind shear Causes a spinning effect In the lower atmosphere
Tornadoes Formation in a non-supercell storm • These are generally weaker tornadoes • AKA: landspout • Short lived • Occur ahead of the frontal boundary • Occur in the NE quadrant of a hurricane • Occur over water “waterspout”
Tornadoes STATS Diameter: 500-2000ft Speed: 30mph Lifetime: 3mins. To 3 hours Intensity: Based on the Fujita Scale (“F-Scale”) Observed in EVERY state of the US Top nine states: Texas Oklahoma Nebraska Iowa Illinois Missouri Indiana Mississippi Florida
Measuring A Tornado
Tornado Watch: possibility Tornado Warning: Sighting