Tornado formation and distribution

A tornado is...

• A violently spinning column of upwardly moving air which travels rapidly across the landscape

• A violently spinning column of downward moving air which travels rapidly across the landscape

• A storm with violent wind, typically formed over the Atlantic Ocean.

• A violently spinning column of horizontally moving wind which forms over land and travels towards the coast

Which type of cloud does a tornado form from?

• Cumulonimbus

• Nimbostratus

• Stratocumulus

• Nimbocumulus

Tornadoes are...

• Smaller than hurricanes

• Larger than hurricanes

The centre of a tornado is an area of...

• Very high atmospheric pressure

• Very low atmospheric pressure

Wind shear is...

• Very strong high and low level winds which are going in the same direction

• Variation in wind velocity occurring along a direction at right angles to the wind's direction and tending to exert a turning force.

• Variation in the wind direction occurring along a line of latitude which causes the wind to spin in an anticlockwise direction

A supercell is...

• A large slow-moving area of updraught and downdraught which causes violent thunderstorms, heavy hail, and tornadoes.

• A large thunderstorm which causes air above the cloud to move in an upwards direction, gaining altitude

• A small, fast moving area of updraught and downdraught which causes thunderstorms, large hailstones and tornadoes

• A violently spinning area of low pressure which, ones it reaches the ground, is classed as a thunderstorm

A mesocyclone is...

• A large, rapidly rotating air mass within a thunderstorm that often gives rise to a tornado.

• An area of extremely low, stationary pressure within a supercell

• A medium sized rotating air mass within a thunderstorm which results in the degradation of tornado formation

• A mobile, destructive vortex of violently rotating winds having the appearance of a funnel-shaped cloud and advancing beneath a large storm system.

It is fully understood how tornadoes form

• True

• False

Stovepipe tornadoes are narrow and cylindrical

• True

• False

Wedge tornadoes are small and cylindrical

• True

• False