Meteorology includes the study of the weather and climate. Meteorologists are in particularly interested in studying the development of thunderstorms and tornadoes. The research and observation of storms began as a hobby for Howard B. Bluestein. Bluestein’s interest in meteorology began with cloud photography. After receiving a degree in Electrical Engineering he went on to graduate school to major in Meteorology. In his book, Monster Storms of the Great Plains, Bluestein relates his experiences with chasing storms and researching tornadoes. He also provides the history of the technology used to research and gather data on storms.
Thunderstorms can be spectacular yet so destructive. The development of thunderstorms and why tornadoes form continues puzzle to scientists (Bluestein, 1999, loc. 2046). The development of a storm begins with the accumulation of clouds (cumulous stage) and updrafts. Moisture in the clouds turns to liquid water and heat is released. The moisture in the clouds turns into raindrops and this changes the density of the clouds. The cooling and weight of the rain causes a downdraft. The wind shifts with the downdraft which causes wind gusts.
Tornadoes can develop in thunderstorm cells. According to Bluestein (1999),
Cells begin when dry thermals, buoyant parcels of unsaturated air reach the condensation level and remain buoyant. In the absence of dry thermals, the cells can be triggered if unsaturated air is lifted to its condensation level through various means (loc. 359).
The word supercell was termed by a British meteorologist to describe a large thunderstorm that endures for more than an hour. Supercells are severe thunderstorms that produce hail. Updrafts in supercells can be so strong th...
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...tornadoes develop is very complex. Thunderstorm cells form through a process of dry thermals and buoyant parcels of unsaturated air reaching the condensation level and remaining buoyant. The cells are then triggered if unsaturated air is lifted to its condensation level through various means.
Thunderstorms can spawn tornadoes when the conditions are right. Tornadoes can occur anywhere at any time in the world. Tornadoes occur the most often in an area that has been named Tornado Alley. Howard Bluestein has spent over twenty years chasing storms and researching tornadoes. Although so much new technology has allowed for extensive research in this area, the development of tornadoes still remains a mystery to meteorologists.
Works Cited
Bluestein, H. (1999) Tornado alley: monster storms of the great plains. [Kindle version].
Retrieved from Amazon.com
Although the tornado of 10 June 1938 has been known about, at least anecdotally, within the scientific community since it was brought to light in 1939 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, this potentially rich source of historic information has lain fallow. It is within this rich field of mobile, American thinking that we undertake this effort. A team of scientists with courage, brains, and even heart brought the resources to bear on the challenge.
The 1953 Waco Tornado was the deadliest tornado in Texas since 1900. The violent and deadly twister ripped through the downtown area killing and injuring hundreds. 600 homes were destroyed and 5 people were hit and killed in cars.Injured people were 597 and 114 killed.
According to Webster’s Dictionary, a tornado is a rotating column of air accompanied by a funnel shaped downward extension of a cumulonimbus cloud and having a vortex several hundred yards in diameter whirling destructively at speeds of up to three hundred miles per hour. There are six classifications of tornadoes, which are measured on what is known as the Fujita Scale. These tornadoes range from an F0 to an F5, which is the most devastating of all. Abnormal warm, humid, and oppressive weather usually precede the formation of a tornado. Records of American tornadoes date back to 1804 and have been known to occur in every state of the United States.
Tornadoes form from wind shears. Wind shears form from warm air that is found at ground level; when it’s raised, the updraft meets a down draft of cooler air that is moved in the opposite direction of the warm air. When both are pushed towards the Earth, this creates wind shear. A spinning tube of air, created from wind shear; tilts upward into a vertical position, as the updraft sucks up moisture from the ground and into the sky. As the warm air cools high in the sky; this produces condensation. The condensation then produces thunderclouds, which rise to 30,000+ feet. The spinning formations of air are then trapped and lifted into the thundercloud. This begins as swirling motion and as continued (if the winds remained viable), a supercell will form. Mesocyclones as they are known are a rotating cloud. If these rotating clouds run into humid air it will spi...
Tornadoes, also called twisters or cyclones, are a localized, violently destructive windstorm occurring over land, and characterized by a long, funnel-shaped cloud extending toward the ground and made visible by condensation and debris. They come in many different shapes and sizes, but are typical in a funnel formation, where the narrow end makes contact with the earth. Most don’t reach winds over 110 miles per hour (177 km/h) or have a path wider than 250 feet (76m), and most only travel a few miles on ground before dissipating. Although, some can reach winds as high as 300 miles per hour (483 km/h) or higher, have a path that can be as wide as two miles (3.2 km) or more, and can travel for dozens of miles on the ground before dissipating.
As evening approached, several thunderstorms began to take on the characteristics of a supercell thunderstorm. Supercells, which are intense, broadly rotating thunderstorms, are the most v...
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), (2001). U.S. Tornado Climatology. Accessed on 9//27/2011 at http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/severeweather/tornadoes.html#deadly
1. According to the USA Today Tornado Information website, a tornado is a "violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and pendant from a thunderstorm." Therefore, thunderstorms are the first step in the creation of a tornado.
Tornadoes are devastating atmospheric events that affect the ecology and the lives of people in their paths. Tornadoes are defined as “a violently rotating column of air, in contact with the ground, either pendant from a cumuliform cloud or underneath a cumuliform cloud, and often (but not always) visible as a funnel cloud” (Glossary of Meterology, 2011). The Tri-state tornado was the most deadly tornado in the United States. It stayed on the ground for a total of 219 miles through areas of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, killed a total of 695 people, and an estimated $16.5 million in damages (National Weather Service, 2011). Luckily, the tornado’s path was largely rural farmland with scattered small towns between them.
An ordinary-single cell is the most common, but multicell and supercells are responsible for the severe thunderstorms. The ordinary single-cell thunderstorms are short lived with three stages: the cumulus, the mature, and the dissipating stages. In the last stage, it eliminates the upward supply of high humidity air needed to maintain a thunderstorm. On the other hand, multicell storms are composed of severe individual single-cell storms that can make storms last for several hours. There is dense, cold air of the downdraft that forms the gust front which forms new cells. Then, groups of these thunderstorms tend to join into larger systems referred to as mesoscale convective
Many scientists often find themselves wondering if the tri-state tornado was really a single massive tornado or if it was part of a family of tornadoes that continuously evolve from one supercell to another. Only one factor stands in the way of this theory and that is a cyclical supercell usually has breaks in its destructive path. The tri-state tornado's path of damage appeared to be continuous despite two slight decreases in the destruction. One of which was near the onset of the storm, and one near the demise. No matter which is believed, one thing is for certain, and that is a storm like the tri-state tornado could very well happen again, but there is no telling when or where it may occur.
Tornadoes are one of the deadliest and most unpredictable villains mankind will ever face. There is no rhyme or reason, no rhythm to it’s madness. Tornados are one of the most terrifying natural events that occur, destroying homes and ending lives every year. April 29th, 1995, a calm, muggy, spring night I may never forget. Jason, a buddy I grew up with, just agreed to travel across state with me so we could visit a friend in Lubbock. Jason and I were admiring the beautiful blue bonnets, which traveled for miles like little blue birds flying close to the ground. The warm breeze brushed across the tips of the blue bonnets and allowed them to dance under the perfectly clear blue sky. In the distance, however, we could see darkness. A rumbling sky was quickly approaching.
A tornado requires some basic ingredients to come together. First, energy in the form of warm, moist air must exist to feed thunder storms. Second, there must be a top layer of hot, dry air called a cap. This air acts like a lid on a simmering pot, holding in the warm air that’s accumulating in the atmosphere below until the storm’s ready to burst. Last, there has to be rotating winds speeding in oppositedirections at two different levels in the atmosphere, a phenomenon called wind shear, can cause the storms to rotate. Tornado alley is perfectly situated to meet these requirements. (1)
I discovered my passion for meteorology in eighth grade, when a love for clouds drove a desire to learn more. While my curiosity in the subject never faltered, my interest and career goals evolved as I was exposed to a research university and experts in the field. I was intrigued by the different challenges in research, as well as the prospect of being able to teach new generations of scientists. It is with this intrigue that I find myself continuing my education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, pursuing a Ph.D. in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (AOS) as an aspiring researcher and professor.
Most tornadoes evolve from energy. Tornadoes come from the energy released in a thunderstorm. As powerful as they are, tornadoes account for only a tiny fraction of the energy in a thunderstorm. What makes them dangerous is that their energy is concentrated in a small area, perhaps only a hundred yards across. Not all tornadoes are the same, of course, and science does not yet completely understand how part of a thunderstorm's energy sometimes gets focused into something as small as a tornad...