Tornado
Topic: Air Masses, Fronts, Cyclones and Thunderstorms · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 9 "Atmospheric Circulation and Weather Systems"
Meaning
A tornado is a funnel of air that spins violently and hangs down from a severe thunderstorm "like the trunk of an elephant". Its centre has very low pressure, and its winds are extremely strong. Its path is narrow, but it destroys almost everything along it. Tornadoes are most common in the middle latitudes. Their strength is rated on the Enhanced Fujita scale, from EF0 (weakest) to EF5 (strongest).
Example
"Tornado Alley" in the Great Plains of the central United States has more tornadoes than anywhere else. The deadliest tornado on record struck Daultipur–Salturia in Bangladesh in 1989.
Don't confuse with
- Tropical cyclone: a tropical cyclone is 500–1,000 km across, forms over warm seas and lasts for days. A tornado is a narrow funnel that forms under a single thunderstorm, often over land, and usually lasts only minutes.