Why do tornadoes occur?

A tornado is a very powerful cyclone, which is related to low air pressure and rotating wind direction. It is one of the most violent weather events.

From a meteorological point of view, the reason for the formation of tornadoes is that the temperature difference between the upper and lower clouds is too large, causing a small vortex of cold air falling and hot air rising; at this time, patches of cotton-like white clouds appear in the sky , called "cumulus clouds". Afterwards, the cumulus clouds continue to develop in the maelstrom to form "cumulonimbus". The latent heat inside the cumulonimbus cloud continues to heat up, thus generating a powerful airflow, which is the so-called "tornado".

(A tornado is an extremely strong and dangerous cyclone that can occur on land (called a landspout) or at sea (called a waterspout). The reason for its occurrence is that hot and humid tropical air masses push northward , while dry and cold air masses invade at high altitudes, causing vortex motion to form thick cumulonimbus clouds. When the vortex motion becomes more violent, it can drop straight from the cloud to the ground, forming a funnel-shaped cloud column in which the wind is extremely strong. Strong and extremely destructive, it is the most destructive of all atmospheric phenomena)

A typical tornado moves at a speed of 55 kilometers per hour, but some tornadoes can move as fast as 115 kilometers per hour; the strongest ones. Tornadoes can reach speeds of up to 450 kilometers per hour.

The lifespan of a typical tornado ranges from 15 minutes to 7 hours and 20 minutes. The longest tornado on record was in Charleston, Mattoon, Illinois in 1917, traveling 471 kilometers.

Many meteorologists classify tornadoes into six levels from "F0" to "F5" based on comparative analysis of tornado wind speeds and damage levels. They can be roughly divided into three types according to their intensity:

2. Strong Tornado (Strong Tornado)

3. Violent Tornado (Violent Tornado)

The tornado depends on its There are two types of types: "downdraft tornado" and "rising tornado":

Downdraft tornado - the pressure difference between the upper cumulonimbus cloud and the center increases gradually, causing the airflow to be dragged downward, that is, So-called "downdraft" tornadoes; also known as "spout" tornadoes.

Updraft - the rising airflow in a tornado is like a vacuum cleaner sucking in various materials on the ground. It is the so-called "updraft" tornado; it is also called the "inhalation" tornado.

Because tornadoes often appear in groups, carry strong winds and suddenly drop the air pressure wherever they pass, they have very strong and terrifying destructive power.