Meteorology - Lecture 25 - Exam 3

A ________ is a rapidly rotating column of air extending vertically from the surface to the base

Tornado

The ________ _______ _____ (PGF) is needed to keep winds spinning in a circular path in a tornado.

Pressure gradient force

Because the _______ force doesn’t play a role, tornadoes can spin clockwise OR counterclockwise

Coriolis

There are _ different types of tornadoes

3

The 3 types of tornadoes are

1. Supercells

2. Cold pool, shear, mesocyclone

3. Localized convective and shear vortices

The key to tornadoes is that the ______ and _______ need to be separate

Updraft, Downdraft

Stages of the tornado life cycle

1. Dust-Whirl stage

2. Organizing stage

3. Mature stage

4. Shrinking stage

5. Decay stage (rope stage)

T/F tornadoes appear from any direction

T

The ______ scale is no longer used, but had ratings from F0-F5

Fujita

Tornadoes are ranked based on the ______, not the wind

Damage