A sequence of images showing the birth of a supercellular tornado. First, the rain-free cloud base lowers as a rotating wall cloud. This lowering concentrates into a funnel cloud, which continues descending simultaneously as a circulation builds near the surface, kicking up dust and other debris. Finally, the visible funnel extends to the ground, and the tornado begins causing major damage.Tornadogenesis occurring in Falcon, Colorado. Note the faint dust swirl beneath the funnel cloud.A diagram showing the contributing weather systems to Tornado Alley in the United States, a loosely-defined area that is prone to tornadoes.
Tornadogenesis is the process by which a tornado forms. There are many types of tornadoes and these vary in methods of formation. Despite ongoing scientific study and high-profile research projects such as VORTEX, tornadogenesis is a volatile process and the intricacies of many of the mechanisms of tornado formation are still poorly understood.[1][2][3]
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air in contact with the surface and a cumuliform cloud base. Tornado formation is caused by the stretching and aggregating/merging of environmental and/or storm-induced vorticity that tightens it into an intense vortex. There are various ways this may come about and thus various forms and sub-forms of tornadoes. Although each tornado is unique, most kinds of tornadoes go through a life cycle of formation, maturation, and dissipation.[4] The process by which a tornado dissipates or decays, occasionally conjured as tornadolysis, is of particular interest for study as is tornadogenesis, longevity, and intensity.
^Coffer, Brice E.; M. D. Parker (2017). "Volatility of Tornadogenesis: An Ensemble of Simulated Nontornadic and Tornadic Supercells in VORTEX2 Environments". Mon. Wea. Rev. 145 (11): 4605–4625. Bibcode:2017MWRv..145.4605C. doi:10.1175/MWR-D-17-0152.1.
^Trapp, R. Jeffrey; R. Davies-Jones (1997). "Tornadogenesis with and without a Dynamic Pipe Effect". J. Atmos. Sci. 54 (1): 113–133. Bibcode:1997JAtS...54..113T. doi:10.1175/1520-0469(1997)054<0113:TWAWAD>2.0.CO;2.
^Davies-Jones, Robert (28 January 2006). "Tornadogenesis in supercell storms: What We Know and What We Don't Know". Symposium on the Challenges of Severe Convective Storms. Atlanta, GA: American Meteorological Society.
^French, Michael M.; D. M. Kingfield (2019). "Dissipation Characteristics of Tornadic Vortex Signatures Associated with Long-Duration Tornadoes". J. Appl. Meteorol. Climatol. 58 (2): 317–339. Bibcode:2019JApMC..58..317F. doi:10.1175/JAMC-D-18-0187.1.
Tornadogenesis is the process by which a tornado forms. There are many types of tornadoes and these vary in methods of formation. Despite ongoing scientific...
critical to tornado formation (tornadogenesis). In 1975, Ted Fujita originated the recycling hypothesis of tornadogenesis: First, downdraft air is recirculated...
has resulted in mixed results regarding their predictive value for tornadogenesis. The concept of DRCs builds on the understanding of hook echoes, first...
tornadoes. Tornadogenesis is most likely when the wall cloud is persistent with rapid ascent and rotation. The wall cloud typically precedes tornadogenesis by...
1917. Tornado families can be a result of satellite tornadoes, cyclic tornadogenesis, or some combination thereof. Intense downbursts may also cause damage...
Severe Thunderstorm Evolution and Mesocyclone Structure as Related to Tornadogenesis by Leslie R. Lemon and Charles A. Doswell III (see Lemon technique)...
strong as an EF2 or EF3 tornado. Dust devil Fire whirl Funnel cloud Tornadogenesis Vortex engine Waterspout Whirlwind Judson Jones (21 May 2020). "Why...
distance from the radar. Some meteorological situations leading to tornadogenesis are not readily detectable by radar and tornado development may occasionally...
J. J. Sharples; S. R. Wilkes; A. Walker (2013). "An Australian pyro-tornadogenesis event". Nat. Hazards. 65 (3): 1801–1811. Bibcode:2013NatHa..65.1801M...
outwards by the downdrafts of the thunderstorms served as foci for tornadogenesis; boundaries like gust fronts can provide low-level vorticity and rising...
important factor modulating severe thunderstorms. One example concerns tornadogenesis, with tornadoes most likely if the dew point depression is 20 °F (11 °C)...
characteristics of the Southeast led to VORTEX-SE, a field project studying tornadogenesis, diagnosis and forecasting, in addition to social science implications...
parent supercell. This was one of the first times that radar linked tornadogenesis with hook-echo signatures. However, because heavy rain obscured the...
2006-10-24. "Tornadogenesis in High-end Tornadic Supercells (Part 3) Moore, Oklahoma EF5 on May 20, 2013 A Case Representative of Tornadogenesis" (PDF). Retrieved...
are less favorable for the kind of convective conditions capable of tornadogenesis, responsibilities for issuing tornado watches covering Alaska and Hawaii...
the likely presence of a strong mesocyclone that is in some stage of tornadogenesis. It may give meteorologists the ability to pinpoint and track the location...
mesocyclones of the same supercell thunderstorm in a process known as cyclic tornadogenesis. Multiple such supercells occurring on the same day in a common region...
An anticyclonic tornado is a tornado which rotates in a clockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere and a counterclockwise direction in the Southern...
descending reflectivity core, a microscale phenomenon that may aid in tornadogenesis. There are currently two major projects planned to expand the FARM's...
Paul M. Markowski is an American meteorologist and leading expert on tornadogenesis and the forecasting of supercells and tornadoes. He was a principal...
140–146. ISBN 978-1-4058-3621-0. Funnel cloud Steam devil Fire whirl Tornadogenesis Tornadoes portal Weather portal Wikimedia Commons has media related...
is entrained and then stretched in the updraft, with importance to tornadogenesis. The most important CAPE for tornadoes is within the lowest 1 to 3 km...
the stronger the updraft is, the more likely the storm is to undergo tornadogenesis and to produce large hail and high winds. Yellowish clouds may be seen...
by a tornado warning if a storm exhibits credible characteristics of tornadogenesis from radar and ground observations. Tornado warnings are issued by weather...
American meteorologist with substantial contributions on tornado dynamics, tornadogenesis, the environments of tornadoes, supercells, and severe convection, and...
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