video thumbnail 4:12
How do tornadoes form? - James Spann

2014-08-19

[public] 8.99M views, 52.5K likes, dislikes audio only

channel thumbTED-Ed

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-do-tornadoes-form-james-spann

Tornadoes are the most violent storms on Earth, with wind velocities that can exceed 200 miles per hour. How do these terrifying cyclones form? Meteorologist James Spann sheds light on the lifespan of tornadoes as they go from supercell thunderstorms to terrible twisters before eventually dissolving back into thin air.

Lesson by James Spann, animation by ProvĂ­ncia Studio.


connect with the ground via a funnel of cloud
/youtube/video/lmWh9jV_1ac?t=27.198999
forming a wide tall tube of spinning air
/youtube/video/lmWh9jV_1ac?t=134.959
creates a stark temperature difference between the air inside the mesocyclone
/youtube/video/lmWh9jV_1ac?t=151.86
turns it into a rotating wall of cloud
/youtube/video/lmWh9jV_1ac?t=175.83