Tornadoes: nature's most violent wind

A tornado is officially defined as an intense, rotating column of air extending from the base of a thunderstorm cloud to the ground. Most tornadoes form under the southwestern section of the thunderstorm cloud. Air moves very rapidly upward around a tornado center. This distinguishes tornadoes from microbursts, which often do tornado-like damage and are often mistaken for tornadoes. Microbursts, on the other hand, features air blasting downward from thunderstorms. The large hail that often precedes tornadoes forms as a result of the intense updraft feeding the thunderstorm.

The United States is the world capital for tornadoes as conditions favorable for tornado development most often occur over the Plains during spring and summer. A typical tornado outbreak often features an intense upper-level disturbance moving across the Plains during spring. This disturbance provides the strong vertical wind shear that gives an updraft its twisting motion, turning a normal thunderstorm into a potentially tornado spawning supercell. Although, the United States has the most tornadoes of any nation in the world, tornadoes do occur in other locations such as Australia and Europe.

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