Tornado

A tornado near Anadarko, Oklahoma. The funnel itself is the thin tube reaching from the cloud to the ground.
The lower part of this tornado is surrounded by a translucent dust cloud, kicked up by the tornado's strong winds
at the surface. Note that the actual wind of the tornado has a much wider radius than the funnel.

A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and
a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. Tornadoes come in many shapes and sizes,
but are typically in the form of a visible condensation funnel, whose narrow end touches the earth and is often
encircled by a cloud of debris and dust. Most tornadoes have wind speeds less than 110 miles per hour (177
km/h), are approximately 250 feet (80 m) across, and travel a few miles (several kilometers) before dissipating.
The most extreme can attain wind speeds of more than 300 mph (480 km/h), stretch more than two miles (3 km)
across, and stay on the ground for dozens of miles (more than 100 km).[1][2][3]

Various types of tornadoes include the landspout, multiple vortex tornado, and waterspout. Waterspouts are
characterized by a spiraling funnel-shaped wind current, connecting to a large cumulus or cumulonimbus cloud.
They are generally classified as non-supercellular tornadoes that develop over bodies of water. [4] These spiraling
columns of air frequently develop in tropical areas close to the equator, and are less common at high latitudes.[5]
Other tornado-like phenomena that exist in nature include the gustnado, dust devil, fire whirls, and steam devil.

Tornadoes have been observed on every continent except Antarctica. However, the vast majority of tornadoes in
the world occur in the Tornado Alley region of the United States, although they can occur nearly anywhere in
North America.[6] They also occasionally occur in south-central and eastern Asia, the Philippines, northern and
east-central South America, Southern Africa, northwestern and southeast Europe, western and southeastern
Australia, and New Zealand.[7] Tornadoes can be detected before or as they occur through the use of Pulse-
Doppler radar by recognizing patterns in velocity and reflectivity data, such as hook echoes, as well as by the
efforts of storm spotters.

There are several different scales for rating the strength of tornadoes. The Fujita scale rates tornadoes by damage
caused, and has been replaced in some countries by the updated Enhanced Fujita Scale. An F0 or EF0 tornado,
the weakest category, damages trees, but not substantial structures. An F5 or EF5 tornado, the strongest
category, rips buildings off their foundations and can deform large skyscrapers. The similar TORRO scale
ranges from a T0 for extremely weak tornadoes to T11 for the most powerful known tornadoes.[8] Doppler radar
data, photogrammetry, and ground swirl patterns (cycloidal marks) may also be analyzed to determine intensity
and assign a rating.

[edit] Etymology

The word tornado is an altered form of the Spanish word tronada, which means "thunderstorm". This in turn
was taken from the Latin tonare, meaning "to thunder". It most likely reached its present form through a
combination of the Spanish tronada and tornar ("to turn"); however, this may be a folk etymology.[10][11] A
tornado is also commonly referred to as a "twister", and is also sometimes referred to by the old-fashioned
colloquial term cyclone.[12][13] The term "cyclone" is used as a synonym for "tornado" in the often-aired 1939
film, The Wizard of Oz. The term "twister" is also used in that film, along with being the title of the 1996
tornado-related film Twister.

[edit] Definitions

A tornado near Seymour, Texas

A tornado is "a violently rotating column of air, in contact with the ground, either pendant from a cumuliform
cloud or underneath a cumuliform cloud, and often (but not always) visible as a funnel cloud".[14] For a vortex to
be classified as a tornado, it must be in contact with both the ground and the cloud base. Scientists have not yet
created a complete definition of the word; for example, there is disagreement as to whether separate touchdowns
of the same funnel constitute separate tornadoes.[3] Tornado refers to the vortex of wind, not the condensation
cloud.[15][16]
[edit] Funnel cloud

Main article: Funnel cloud

This tornado has no funnel cloud; however, the rotating dust cloud indicates that strong winds are occurring at
the surface, and thus it is a true tornado.

A tornado is not necessarily visible; however, the intense low pressure causing the high wind speeds (as
described by Bernoulli's principle) and rapid rotation (due to cyclostrophic balance) usually causes water vapor
in the air to become visible as a funnel cloud or condensation funnel.[17]

There is some disagreement over the definition of funnel cloud and condensation funnel. According to the
Glossary of Meteorology, a funnel cloud is any rotating cloud pendant from a cumulus or cumulonimbus, and
thus most tornadoes are included under this definition.[18] Among many meteorologists, the funnel cloud term is
strictly defined as a rotating cloud which is not associated with strong winds at the surface, and condensation
funnel is a broad term for any rotating cloud below a cumuliform cloud.[3]

Tornadoes often begin as funnel clouds with no associated strong winds at the surface, although not all evolve
into a tornado. However, many tornadoes are preceded by a funnel cloud. Most tornadoes produce strong winds
at the surface while the visible funnel is still above the ground, so it is difficult to discern the difference between
a funnel cloud and a tornado from a distance.[3]

[edit] Outbreaks and families

Main articles: Tornado family, tornado outbreak, and tornado outbreak sequence

Occasionally, a single storm will produce more than one tornado, either simultaneously or in succession.
Multiple tornadoes produced by the same storm cell are referred to as a "tornado family".[19] Several tornadoes
are sometimes spawned from the same large-scale storm system. If there is no break in activity, this is
considered a tornado outbreak, although there are various definitions. A period of several successive days with
tornado outbreaks in the same general area (spawned by multiple weather systems) is a tornado outbreak
sequence, occasionally called an extended tornado outbreak.

Climatology

Main article: Tornado climatology

Areas worldwide where tornadoes are most likely, indicated by orange shading

The United States has the most tornadoes of any country, nearly four times more than estimated in all of Europe,
excluding waterspouts.[60] This is mostly due to the unique geography of the continent. North America is a large
continent that extends from the tropics north into arctic areas, and has no major east-west mountain range to
block air flow between these two areas. In the middle latitudes, where most tornadoes of the world occur, the
Rocky Mountains block moisture and buckle the atmospheric flow, forcing drier air at mid-levels of the
troposphere due to downsloped winds, and causing the formation of a low pressure area downwind to the east of
the mountains. Increased westerly flow off the Rockies force the formation of a dry line when the flow aloft is
strong,[61] while the Gulf of Mexico fuels abundant low-level moisture in the southerly flow to its east. This
unique topography allows for frequent collisions of warm and cold air, the conditions that breed strong, long-
lived storms throughout the year. A large portion of these tornadoes form in an area of the central United States
known as Tornado Alley.[6] This area extends into Canada, particularly Ontario and the Prairie Provinces,
although southeast Quebec, interior British Columbia, and western New Brunswick are also tornado-prone.[62]
Tornadoes also occur across northeastern Mexico.[3]

The United States averages about 1,200 tornadoes per year. The Netherlands has the highest average number of
recorded tornadoes per area of any country (more than 20, or 0.0013 per sq mi (0.00048 per km2), annually),
followed by the UK (around 33, or 0.00035 per sq mi (0.00013 per km2), per year),[63][64] but most are small and
cause minor damage. In absolute number of events, ignoring area, the UK experiences more tornadoes than any
other European country, excluding waterspouts.[60]

Intense tornado activity in the United States. The darker-colored areas denote the area commonly referred to as
Tornado Alley.

Tornadoes kill an average of 179 people per year in Bangladesh, the most in the world. This is due to high
population density, poor quality of construction and lack of tornado safety knowledge, as well as other factors. [65]
[66]
Other areas of the world that have frequent tornadoes include South Africa, parts of Argentina, Paraguay, and
southern Brazil, as well as portions of Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and far eastern Asia.[7][67]

Tornadoes are most common in spring and least common in winter. [20] Spring and fall experience peaks of
activity as those are the seasons when stronger winds, wind shear, and atmospheric instability are present.[68]
Tornadoes are focused in the right front quadrant of landfalling tropical cyclones, which tend to occur in the late
summer and autumn. Tornadoes can also be spawned as a result of eyewall mesovortices, which persist until
landfall.[69] Favorable conditions can occur any time of the year.

Tornado occurrence is highly dependent on the time of day, because of solar heating.[70] Worldwide, most
tornadoes occur in the late afternoon, between 3 pm and 7 pm local time, with a peak near 5 pm.[71][72][73][74][75]
Destructive tornadoes can occur at any time of day. The Gainesville Tornado of 1936, one of the deadliest
tornadoes in history, occurred at 8:30 am local time.[20]

[edit] Associations with climate and climate change

Associations to various climate and environmental trends exist. For example, an increase in the sea surface
temperature of a source region (e.g. Gulf of Mexico and Mediterranean Sea) increases atmospheric moisture
content. Increased moisture can fuel an increase in severe weather and tornado activity, particularly in the cool
season.[76]

Some evidence does suggest that the Southern Oscillation is weakly correlated with changes in tornado activity,
which vary by season and region, as well as whether the ENSO phase is that of El Niño or La Niña.[77]

Climatic shifts may affect tornadoes via teleconnections in shifting the jet stream and the larger weather patterns.
The climate-tornado link is confounded by the forces affecting larger patterns and by the local, nuanced nature of
tornadoes. Although it is reasonable that global warming may affect trends in tornado activity,[78] any such effect
is not yet identifiable due to the complexity, local nature of the storms, and database quality issues. Any effect
would vary by region.[79]

Tornado adalah kolom udara yang berputar kencang yang membentuk hubungan antara awan cumulonimbus
atau dalam kejadian langka dari dasar awan cumulus dengan permukaan tanah. Tornado muncul dalam banyak
ukuran namun umumnya berbentuk corong kondensasi yang terlihat jelas yang ujungnya yang menyentuh bumi
menyempit dan sering dikelilingi oleh awan yang membawa puing-puing.
Umumnya tornado memiliki kecepatan angin 177 km/jam atau lebih dengan rata-rata jangkauan 75 m dan
menempuh beberapa kilometer sebelum menghilang. Beberapa tornado yang mencapai kecepatan angin lebih
dari 300-480 km/jam memiliki lebar lebih dari satu mil (1.6 km) dan dapat bertahan di permukaan dengan lebih
dari 100 km.[1][2][3]
Meskipun tornado telah diamati di tiap benua kecuali Antartika, tornado lebih sering terjadi di Amerika Serikat.
[4]
Tornado juga umumnya terjadi di Kanada bagian selatan, selatan-tengah dan timur Asia, timur-tengah
Amerika Latin, Afrika Selatan, barat laut dan tengah Eropa, Italia, barat dan selatan Australia, dan Selandia
Baru.[5]
[sunting] Definisi

Tornado dekat Seymour, Texas.

Tornado
Tornado didefinisikan oleh Glosari Meteorologi sebagai "kolom udara yang berputar kencang yang menyatu
dengan permukaan tanah dan muncul dari awan cumuliform atau bagian bawah awan cumuliform dan sering
(namun tidak selalu) tampak sebagai suatu awan corong..."[6]
Corong Kondensasi
Tornado tidak harus tampak; namun, intensitas tekanan rendah yang disebabkan oleh kecepatan angin yang
tinggi (lihat Prinsip Bernoulli) dan berputar cepat (berkaitan dengan keseimbangan siklostrofik) sering
menyebabkan uap air di udara berkondensasi yang menyebabkan tampak corong kondensasi.[4] Tornado
merupakan pusaran angin bukan awan kondensasi.
awan corong merupakan perwujutan dari corong kondensasi yang tanpa disertai angin kencang di
permukaannya. Tidak semua awan corong menjadi sebuah tornado. Namun, banyak tornado yang didahului oleh
awan corong seperti pusaran mesosiklon yang mendarat di permukaan tanah. Tornado pada umumnya
menghasilkan angin kencang di permukaannya ketika corong yang tampak itu bertahan di atas permukaan tanah.
Hal ini menyebabkan sulitnya menemukan perbedaan antara awan corong dan tornado dari suatu jarak tertentu.[3]
Keluarga Tornado
Kadang, sebuah badai tunggal menghasilkan berbagai tornado dan mesosiklon. Proses ini dikenal sebagai siklus
tornadogenesis. Tornado yang terbentuk dari badai yang sama dikenal sebagai keluarga tornado. Kadang-
kadang sejumlah tornado dari mesosiklon yang berbeda terjadi secara bersamaan.[7]
Serangan Tornado
Kadang, beberapa tornado terbentuk dari sistem bada berskala luas yang sama. Jika terdapat aktivitas tornado
yang merusak, hal ini dianggap menjadi suatu serangan tornado, meskipun ada bermacam-macam definisi.
Periode beberapa hari berturut-turut dengan serangan tornado di lokasi yang sama (terbentuk oleh beberapa
sistem cuaca) merupakan rentetan serangan tornado, yang kadang disebut serangan tornado luas.[6][8][9]
Etimologi
Kata "tornado" merupakan perubahan dari kata dalam Bahasa Spanyol tronada, yang berarti "badai petir".
Kemudian, kata tornado juga diambil dari Bahasa Latin tonare, yang berarti "gemuruh". Kata ini sangat
mungkin merupakan kombinasi dari bahasa Spanyol tronada dan tornar ("berputar"); namun, kata ini mungkin
juga merupakan suatu etimologi rakyat.[10][11] Tornado juga secara umum dikenal sebagai twisters.[12]

[sunting] Jenis

Sebuah tornado multivortex di bagian luar Dallas, Texas pada 2 April 1957.
[sunting] Tornado sejati
Tornado multi-pusaran
Tornado multi-pusaran adalah suatu jenis tornado dimana dua atau lebih kolom udara yang menggumpal
berputar mengelilingi pusat. Struktur multi-pusaran dapat terjadi di hampir setiap sirkulasi, namum sangat sering
teramati dalam tornado dahsyat.
Satelit tornado
Satelit tornado adalah suatu istilah untuk tornado lemah yang terbentuk dekat tornado besar kuat yang terjadi
dalam mesosiklon yang sama. Satelit tornado muncul dari "orbit" tornado besar (sebagai namanya), yang
memperlihatkan wujud pusaran yang multi-pusaran. Namun, satelit tornado merupakan corong yang berbeda,
dan lebih kecil dibandingkan corong utama.[3]

Angin Puting Beliung di dekat Florida Keys.

Puting Beliung
Puting Beliung secara resmi digambarkan secara singkat oleh National Weather Service Amerika Serikat seperti
tornado yang melintasi perairan. Namun, para peneliti umumnya mencirikan puting beliung "cuaca sedang"
berasal dari puting beliung tornado.
• Puting beliung cuaca sedang sedikit perusak namun sangat jauh dari umumnya dan memiliki dinamik
yang sama dengan setan debu dan landspout.[13] Mereka terbentuk saat barisan awan cumulus congestus
menjulang di perairan tropis dan semitropis.[13] Angin ini memiliki angin yang secara relatif lemah,
dinding berlapis lancar, dan umumnya melaju sangat pelan.[13] Angin ini sangat sering terjadi di Florida
Keys.[14]
• Puting Beliung Tornado merupakan secara harafiah sebutan untuk "tornado yang melintasi perairan".
Angin ini dapat terbentuk melintasi perairan seperti tornado mesosiklon, atau menjadi tornado darat
yang melintas keluar perairan. Sejak angin ini terbentuk dari badai petir perusak dan dapat menjadi jauh
lebih dahsyat, kencang, dan bertahan lebih lama daripada puting beliung cuaca sedang, angin ini
dianggap jauh lebih membahayakan.