Tornado: Difference between revisions
From Glossary of Meteorology
| Line 8: | Line 8: | ||
== Tornado == | == Tornado == | ||
<div class="definition"><div class="short_definition">A rapidly rotating column of [[air]] extending vertically from the surface to the base of a [[cumuliform]] [[cloud]], often with near-surface circulating debris/[[dust]] when over land or | <div class="definition"><div class="short_definition">A rapidly rotating column of [[air]] extending vertically from the surface to the base of a [[cumuliform]] [[cloud]], often with near-surface circulating debris/[[dust]] when over land or spray when over water. Although its presence is not required, a [[funnel cloud]] is often visible and may partly or fully extend from the cloud base to the ground.</div><br/> | ||
<div class="paragraph">Characteristics of typical tornadoes include a diameter of 2 km or less, with maximum [[wind]] [[velocity]] differences across the circulation exceeding 40 m s<sup>−1</sup> within 200 m of the surface. Tornadoes typically last on the order of 100–1000 s. Some may be comprised of multiple subvortices with spatial scales as small as tens of meters, rotating around a central axis. Tornadoes rated by the [[Enhanced Fujita Scale|enhanced Fujita (EF) scale]] have wind gusts at 10 m above the surface equaling or exceeding 29 m s<sup>−1</sup> (65 mph; the lower bound of EF-0).</div><br/> | <div class="paragraph">Characteristics of typical tornadoes include a diameter of 2 km or less, with maximum [[wind]] [[velocity]] differences across the circulation exceeding 40 m s<sup>−1</sup> within 200 m of the surface. Tornadoes typically last on the order of 100–1000 s. Some may be comprised of multiple subvortices with spatial scales as small as tens of meters, rotating around a central axis. Tornadoes rated by the [[Enhanced Fujita Scale|enhanced Fujita (EF) scale]] have wind gusts at 10 m above the surface equaling or exceeding 29 m s<sup>−1</sup> (65 mph; the lower bound of EF-0).</div><br/> | ||
Latest revision as of 06:54, 2 November 2020
Tornado
A rapidly rotating column of air extending vertically from the surface to the base of a cumuliform cloud, often with near-surface circulating debris/dust when over land or spray when over water. Although its presence is not required, a funnel cloud is often visible and may partly or fully extend from the cloud base to the ground.
Characteristics of typical tornadoes include a diameter of 2 km or less, with maximum wind velocity differences across the circulation exceeding 40 m s−1 within 200 m of the surface. Tornadoes typically last on the order of 100–1000 s. Some may be comprised of multiple subvortices with spatial scales as small as tens of meters, rotating around a central axis. Tornadoes rated by the enhanced Fujita (EF) scale have wind gusts at 10 m above the surface equaling or exceeding 29 m s−1 (65 mph; the lower bound of EF-0).
Tornadoes that occur over water are classified as waterspouts. Landspouts are a subset of tornadoes that occur independent of a parent mesocyclone. Gustnadoes are not considered tornadoes since they are shallow and short-lived vortices that are usually weak. Dust devils are not considered tornadoes since they are not associated with cumuliform clouds.
Term edited 2 November 2020.
