Tornadoes form during severe weather. What conditions help them form? Here's what to know
Severe weather Thursday night brought thunderstorms, tornado watches, 20 tornado warnings and multiple confirmed tornadoes, including an EF3 twister near Indian Lake in Logan County, to a wide swath of Ohio.
The Logan County left at least 3 people dead. More news of what happened Thursday is still being uncovered as the National Weather Service investigates the aftermath.
Confirming tornadoes:Did tornadoes touch down in Ohio? How the National Weather Service confirms twisters
Ohio tornado season usually peaks later in the year, but twisters can form anytime the conditions are right. So how do tornadoes come to life?
How do tornadoes form?
These vicious columns of air are formed from severe thunderstorms, which swoop close to the ground.
The main ingredients to a tornado are warm air and cool air. Inside the monstrous clouds, warm, humid air rises, while cool air falls, along with precipitation. As these two types of air mix, it causes spinning air currents inside the cloud.
This unstable air mass creates strong updrafts, while wind shears will further increase the strength of the updraft, and promotes the rotation of tornadoes. These start out horizontal, then drop down vertically from the clouds. Once it touches the ground, wind speeds pick up, forming a tornado.
Once wind speeds get fast enough, these tornadoes can grab anything, from a roof off a home, to a car in a driveway.
Ohio tornadoes:Photos of the damage to Logan County from storms
Are tornadoes always the same size?
The conditions that help them form are the same, but tornadoes come in all shapes and sizes. They can be narrow, rope-like swirls or large, wide funnels.
How are tornadoes ranked?
They’re ranked by the Enhanced Fujita scale, developed by meteorologist Dr. Tetsuya Theodore Fujita, in 1971. This scale helps categorize each tornado by its intensity and its area, and can estimate the wind speeds associated with the damage caused by the tornado.
The EF scale are divided into six categories:
- F4: Winds between 166-200 mph
- F0: Winds between 65-85 mph
- F1: Winds between 86-110 mph
- F2: Winds between 111-135 mph
- F3: Winds between 136-165 mph
- F5: Winds more than 200 mph
Are tornadoes predictable?
Not always. Thunderstorms don’t always lead to tornadoes, but then again, tornadoes form from thunderstorms. Unlike a hurricane, a tornado are not something meteorologists can see ahead of time through satellites and weather forecasts.
If there’s a thunderstorm in your area, it’s important to stay vigilant and be alert in case of a tornado warning. Tornadoes form as they please, leaving people in affected areas just a few minutes to find shelter.