What Are Tornadoes?

Morning Twisters!

Have you ever seen one of these things before?

Ye, a tornado.

Pretty scary right?

But how do tornadoes actually happen?

First, there are a couple conditions that need to be met for a tornado to form…

They begin with a thunderstorm.

But not just any thunderstorm…

A SUPER POWERFUL one.

So powerful they have their own special name: Supercells.

Supercells form when you got air just above the ground going one way…

And air a bit higher up going another way.

This can cause a little horizontal tube of air to form in the sky

Now, in a thunderstorm, warm air rises upwards.

This is what’s called an updraft, and basically it just pushes the horizontal tube upwards so it becomes vertical

Like this:

This causes the whole storm to start spinning, forming… a Supercell.

And then, if it's just powerful enough, and just moist enough, a vortex can develop.

Forming a little funnel of air at the base of the Supercell, that (if the conditions are right) slowly reaches down as a giant rotating wall of cloud.

And the second this thing touches the ground, it becomes a TORNADO.

Now, most don't really last that long, like an hour max.

But they are quite destructive, with winds ranging from 65 - 200 miles per hour.

Which is strong enough to completely pick up and toss a tree… or a car… or even a house.

So ye.

If you ever see one of these things, you might wanna get underground, or… get moving.

Stay Cute,
Reece, Henry & Dylan 🌈

If you’re that sexy friend, subscribe here.