wunder beta

📘 How a tornado gets organized

Trace wind shear, rotating updrafts, downdrafts, funnels, and radar signatures.

lessons

~20 min

to learn

🔬 Science

subject

Adults

level

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What you’ll learn

Ingredients
Shear
Updraft
Supercell
Inflow
Downdrafts
Low-level circulation
Pressure
Condensation funnel
Radar
Storm motion
Non-supercell tornadoes
Lifecycle
Multiple vortices
Intensity
Warning
Open questions

Questions this course answers

What does wind shear provide for many supercell tornadoes?

Wind changes with height create horizontal vorticity that an updraft can tilt and stretch.

What is a mesocyclone?

Doppler radar uses mesocyclone for a storm-scale rotating updraft.

Why is a condensation funnel not identical to a tornado?

Condensation marks saturated air; ground contact can exist with an incomplete or invisible funnel.

What can a Doppler velocity couplet indicate?

Opposite radial velocities side by side are evidence of rotation relative to the radar.

Why can a downdraft either help or stop a tornado?

A rear-flank downdraft may concentrate low-level rotation, but cold outflow can choke the updraft.

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