TORNADOES

TORNADOES

WHAT ARE TORNADOES?

• A tornado is a violently rotating column of air which collides with the land and a cumulonimbus cloud.
• Tornadoes are severe local storms of short duration.
• They occur during the spring and summer.
• They occur over a small area but are violent in nature.
• They are also known as twisters or cyclones.
• They produce thunder and lightning.

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES?

• These are caused by intense convection on moist hot days.
•  The most significant ingredient is wind shear.
• When air moves from the ground to the atmosphere, the column of air becomes vertical.
• It is a well-grown cumulonimbus cloud.
• Tornado over the sea, called water sprouts.
   

WHERE ARE TORNADOES DISTRIBUTED?

• They generally occur in middle latitudes.
• They are rare in polar regions and irregular in latitudes higher than 50° N and 50° S.
• They are most prone in temperate and tropical regions. 

WHERE ARE TORNADOES DISTRIBUTED?

• These are reported on all continents except Antarctica.
• United States faces the most violent tornadoes.
• In the Indian sub-continent, Bangladesh is the most prone country.

WHAT DAMAGE IS CAUSED BY TORNADOES?

• Many hazardous weather phenomena are associated.
• Rainfall from thunderstorms causes flash flooding.
• Killing hundreds more people each year.
• Loss to livestock and property.