What causes tornadoes and waterspouts?
Improved radar and sensing equipment has enabled scientists in recent years to have a better understanding of what causes tornadoes and waterspouts, but they still don’t have all the answers. The tornado is an element of a storm cloud which contains concentrated winds circling rapidly counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. The United States has far more tornadoes than any other country, but they do occur from time to time in other parts of the globe. Tornadoes all begin with a cold front plowing into warm, moist air. They can not occur without the energy from relative warmer air. Thermal differences between masses of air cause winds to move in different directions in many thunderstorms. When the air currents are moving in opposite or perpendicular directions, circular patterns can begin. If these circular patterns are reinforced by strong updrafts or downdrafts, the circular pattern begins to feed itself with warm, moist air . . . eventual
