Tornadoes

Tornadoes can occur just about everywhere in the world, but the most active breeding ground for tornadoes is Tornado Alley. It extends from Texas up through Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska to the Dakotas. Warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico clashes with cold air from the north that fuels these massive storms. Tornadoes can form any time of year, but many occur during the spring, when these warm and cold air masses collide. Storms often are triggered where two different kinds of air masses meet, such as cold dry and moist warm air.

Tornadoes can form out of any kind of thunderstorm, but most tornadoes are spawned by the king of all thunderstorms, the Supercell. A Supercell thunderstorm actual storm

rotates when winds at different levels of the atmosphere come from different directions and when the winds are lined up just right, with just enough strength, the storm turns like a top. Air circulations within the storm combined with a strong updraft contribute to tornado formation.

Under the rain-free base of a supercell, look for a wall cloud to form. Out of this lowered, rotating a tornado may form at any time. These Supercell storm are amazing to watch, but if you ever find yourself near a storm like this, get out of the path of the storm immediately and call me.