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  • BBC Science Focus Magazine

    THE EXPLAINER

    Mar 16, 2022 3 minutes
    by PROF DANN MITCHELL

    WHAT IS A TORNADO AND HOW DOES IT FORM?

    ornadoes, sometimes called twisters or whirlwinds, are intense vortices stretching from the Earth’s surface to the base of stormy, cumulonimbus clouds – these clouds extend deeply in the vertical and often have an anvil-shaped top. Typically, tornadoes measure around 100 metres in diameter, travelling on average around five kilometres before they dissipate. Tornadoes form from mesocyclones, large-scale regions of rapidly rotating air that flow within the cumulonimbus clouds. Cool, dry air

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