wunder beta🌪️ Tornadoes and the physics of a spinning storm
Follow buoyant air, wind shear, mesocyclones, pressure, radar, and debris surveys to see how a spinning storm becomes a tornado.
What you’ll learn
- Build a spinning stormExplain how buoyancy and vertical wind shear organize a thunderstorm into a rotating supercell.This chapter builds the storm engine from warm moist air, triggers, wind shear, mesocyclones, and stretching.
- Inside the vortexDescribe pressure, condensation, stretching, subvortices, and the relationship between a tornado and its parent storm.This chapter moves inside the circulation and separates the visible funnel from the larger, invisible wind field.
- See the invisible windInterpret what Doppler radar and hook echoes can reveal about tornado-favorable rotation.This chapter explains how radar detects motion and why a hook echo is useful evidence but not a guarantee.
- Measure the aftermathConnect warnings and post-storm surveys to the evidence used for tornado intensity estimates.This chapter follows the physics into practice, from warning decisions to debris patterns and Enhanced Fujita ratings.
Questions this course answers
What does wind shear help a thunderstorm do?
Changes in wind speed and direction with height help separate storm motions and turn horizontal rotation into a rotating updraft.
Why is a visible funnel not the complete definition of a tornado?
A tornado is the rotating column of air reaching the ground; condensation is only the visible tracer.
What does Doppler velocity add to a radar display?
Doppler processing uses the motion of returned targets to reveal inbound and outbound wind patterns and rotation.
How is an EF rating mainly assigned?
The Enhanced Fujita Scale is based on damage evidence, construction details, and estimated wind-speed ranges.
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