Tornadoes essays

Tornadoes essays A tornado is a quick but powerful whirlwind storm shaped in a funnel. They usually travel at about 45 mph and do alot of damage to people and property. A tornados winds usually blow from 75 mph to 300 mph. They can accelerate from nearly standing still to moving at almost 70 mph. Tornadoes become visible when a condensation funnel made of water vapor forms in extremely low pressure, or when a tornado lofts dirt, dust, and debris upward from the ground. A tornados diameter varies from tens of meters to nearly one mile. Its usually an average diameter of 160 ft. Tornadoes that form in the Northern hemisphere rotate counter clockwise around a center of low atmospheric pressure. In the Southern hemisphere, tornadoes blow clockwise from high atmospheric pressure. A tornado begins with an intersection between a storms updraft and winds. An updraft is a current of warm, moist air that rises upward through the thunderstorm. The updraft intersects with the winds, which must change the height in favorable ways for the interaction to occur. This interaction causes the updraft to rotate at the middle levels of the atmosphere. The rotating updraft stabilizes the thunderstorm and gives it its Super Cell characteristics. The next stage is the development of a strong downdraft on the backside of the storm known as the rear-flank downdraft. The rear-flank downdraft becomes progressively colder as the rain evaporates into it. The cold air moves downward because it is denser than warm air. The downdrafts speed increases and the air plunges to the ground, where it fans out at speeds that may exceed 100 mph. Tornadoes usually occur between the rear-flank downdraft and the main storm updraft. However, this is just how scientists believe tornadoes occur, the true process is still hidden in science. Most tornadoes develop from a Super Cell. A Super Cell isa a long-living, rotating thunderstor...