What Causes a Tornado? — Transcript

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1. 0:01What Causes a Tornado?
2. 0:03The swirling, funnel-shaped winds of a tornado are easily recognizable—and they can be
3. 0:10very dangerous.
4. 0:11But what causes these unique and violent weather phenomena?
5. 0:16Tornados usually begin with a thunderstorm.
6. 0:18But not just any thunderstorm—a specific kind of rotating thunderstorm called a supercell.
7. 0:25They can bring damaging hail, strong winds, lightning and flash floods.
8. 0:33Supercells form when air becomes very unstable and wind speed and direction are different
9. 0:38at different altitudes.
10. 0:40This condition is called wind shear.
11. 0:43Wind shear is common in the formation of most thunderstorms.
12. 0:47But when wind at ground level is blowing in one direction…
13. 0:52…and wind higher up in the atmosphere blows in a different direction
14. 0:56…it can cause a horizontal tube of air to form.
15. 1:01In a thunderstorm, warm air rises up within the storm.
16. 1:06This is called an updraft.
17. 1:08An updraft can turn a horizontal rotating tube of air into a vertical one.
18. 1:14When this happens, the whole storm begins rotating, creating a supercell.
19. 1:21Some supercells form a funnel cloud.
20. 1:25And if that funnel cloud extends to the ground, it is called a tornado.
21. 1:32Tornados can produce winds up to 300 miles per hour at the surface, making them dangerous
22. 1:37to people and property.
23. 1:40As a tornado moves along the ground, its strong winds begin to pick up debris, too.
24. 1:46In fact, flying debris is usually what causes the most damage in a storm.
25. 1:52Thankfully, meteorologists are keeping an eye on your local weather.
26. 1:58They will try to give you a heads up if a tornado is likely to form in your area.
27. 2:03They combine wind and temperature readings form the ground with information from satellites
28. 2:09to determine if your local weather has the right conditions for a tornado.
29. 2:15For example, NOAA’s GOES-East satellite captures this video of an isolated supercell
30. 2:21storm in Texas.
31. 2:23The different colors represent different cloud top temperatures in the storm.
32. 2:27Colder temperatures represent higher cloud tops, which often mean stronger storms.
33. 2:33So, if you see a tornado watch or warning in your area, look for updates and get to
34. 2:40safety as soon as possible.
35. 2:43And know that NOAAs GOES-R series satellites will still be keeping a close eye on things
36. 2:48from orbit.
37. 2:50Find out more about extreme weather at NOAA SciJInks!