A tightly wound tornado funnel twists through open prairie in Manitoba, Canada. Tornadoes are pillars of rapidly rotating air that develop in tall, dense cumuliform clouds that are associated with thunderstorms and bad weather.
A rare, mother ship cloud formation hovers over Childress, Texas. Tornado-chasers there covered seven hours and 150 miles (241 kilometers) tracking the supercell thunderstorm that produced this cloud formation. Supercell thunderstorms are known to spawn tornadoes with winds exceeding 200 mph (322 kph).A rare, mother ship cloud formation hovers over Childress, Texas. Tornado-chasers there covered seven hours and 150 miles (241 kilometers) tracking the supercell thunderstorm that produced this cloud formation. Supercell thunderstorms are known to spawn tornadoes with winds exceeding 200 mph (322 kph).
Masses of dark clouds and a crack of lightning over a prairie in the Midwest set the stage for tornadoes. Tornadoes frequently occur in conjunction with spring and summer thunderstorms, but they can spin off abruptly, at any time of year, in any condition.
A slender twister spins under storm-streaked skies in the U.S. In addition to typical land twisters, tornadoes may form over desert (dust devils), forest fires or volcanoes (firewhirls), or oceans (waterspouts).
An impending tornado darkens skies over the Colorado plains. Most tornadoes are 400 to 500 feet (122 to 152 meters) wide, travel four or five miles (six to eight kilometers) and last just a few minutes.
Heavy clouds hang low over a homestead in the Midwest, foretelling a possible tornado. Tornadoes form when the updrafts of air that supply storms with warm, humid air become a vortex, or high-speed whirlwind.
Source: National Geographic
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