What is a Tornado

A tornado is a fast spinning column of air which is both in contact with the earth and a thunderstorm cloud. Tornadoes are often also called twisters or cyclones, although the cyclones are used in meteorology to name any closed low pressure circulation. There are shapes and sizes tornadoes can be, but there are most famous in the form of a visible funnel cloud. Most tornadoes have winds speeds of less than 180 km/h, are around 75m across and travel several kilometers before disappearing again. The most extreme tornadoes can have winds speeds of more than 480 km/h, stretch more than 3 km across and stay on the ground for more than 100 km!

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