Tornadoes are a frequent and often devastating weather phenomenon most commonly seen in the United States, but meteorologists are still unable to say exactly how they originate.
December 12,2021 Tornadoes are a frequent and often devastating weather phenomenon most commonly seen in the United States, but meteorologists are still unable to say exactly how they originate. «The US typically has more tornadoes than anywhere else in the world, though they can occur almost anywhere,» according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Hardest hit are Great Plains states like Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, though they are also common in many other states, all east of the Rocky Mountains. Origins Scientists still struggle to pinpoint the precise way in which these powerful storms form. «Much about tornadoes remains a mystery,» according to the National Severe Storm Laboratory, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). «They are rare, deadly and difficult to predict, and they can deal out millions or even billions of dollars in property damage per year.» What is known is that they generally result from so-called «supercell» thunderstorms characterized by extremely powerful updrafts, according to NOAA. «Within the storm, a strong vertical wind shear causes a horizontally rotating cylinder of air. The updraft lifts the rotating cylinder within the supercell. The rotating cylinder of air narrows, becoming stretched, and spins faster and faster, forming a tornado.
