# Tornado ## Overview Tornadoes are violent columns of rotating air that can occur in certain weather conditions, especially during thunderstorms. ## Thoughts I haven't experienced any other weather event that unnerves me nearly as much as tornadoes do. Occasionally, I'll mention tornadoes when writing about other seemingly unrelated things, such as some of the areas you encounter in the game [[Skies of Arcadia]]. I also have a recurring nightmare that I experience every once in a while, although it has been some time I last remember dreaming it: [[Nightmare - Recurring - Tornados]]. ## The Science of Tornadoes ### Etymology The word **tornado** is a resultant combination of several words in multiple languages: - "tonare" (Latin, "to thunder") - "tronar" (Spanish, "to thunder") - "tronada" (Spanish, "thunderstorm") - "tornare" (Latin, "to turn") - "tornar" (Spanish, "to twist, turn") ### Tornadogenesis Most tornadoes are a product of complex fluid dynamics as different volumes of air interact with each other. Masses of warm and cool air colliding create **wind shear**, leading to the rotation of air in a horizontal orientation. Due to the updraft of the storm itself, this rotating body of air is tilted upward into a vertical column, leading to the formation of a tornado. In some cases tornadoes skip the first step and begin spinning in a vertical column, but this is much less common and has different conditions that lead to it occurring. ### Measuring Tornado Wind Speed The **Enhanced Fujita Scale** (EF) is the principle way of classifying tornadoes and is primarily based on observing the damage that they cause. The original **Fujita Scale** (F) preceded the EF Scale, but is considered obsolete after taking into account better estimates of how wind speeds affect damage.[^fujita] For example, when using a large shopping mall as your **Damage Indicator** (DI), if you "observe complete destruction of all or a large part of the building," then your **Degree of Damage** (DOD) is a 9, which *suggests* a wind speed of approximately ==204 mph==. | EF Rating | Wind Gust Speeds (mph) | | --------- | ---------------------- | | 0 | 65-85 | | 1 | 86-110 | | 2 | 111-135 | | 3 | 136-165 | | 4 | 166-200 | | 5 | 200+ | | 6 | Hypothesized | ### Cyclonic vs. Anticyclonic In the **northern hemisphere**, tornados are considered **cyclonic** if they spin **counterclockwise**. If they spin in the opposite direction, **clockwise**, then they are considered **anticyclonic**.[^anticyclonic] > *Almost all tornadoes are cyclonic — somewhere around 98%!*[^stats] Note that if you're in the **southern hemisphere**, then the directions are reversed! ### Types Coming soon! ### Remarkable Tornadoes Coming soon! ## Tornadoes In Media ### Twister [[Twister]] is a classic tornado movie! Like I wrote in the note for that movie, I blame it for some of my fears of tornadoes in general, having grown up watching it (not to mention living in the Midwestern US). ![[twister_sister_tornadoes.png]] This scene, where the main characters are holding on for dear life while looking up into the interior of the tornado, was always really fascinating to me. It's a neat effect! ![[twister_inside_funnel.png]] The animalistic sound effects that they gave the tornadoes in some scenes really sells the notion of the tornadoes being primal acts of nature. ![[Pasted image 20260915163338.png]] #weather #tornadoes #natural_disasters [^stats]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anticyclonic_tornado [^anticyclonic]: https://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/#anticyclonic1 [^fujita]: https://www.weather.gov/oun/efscale