How fast does a twister spin

Also called twisters, tornadoes are an extreme weather phenomenon that consist of high, spinning winds that form a funnel shaped structure. When a tornado occurs, it can cause massive devastation. It can destroy homes and buildings, uproot trees and vegetation, and hurl anything it comes into contact with hundreds of meters across the ground.

It may also result in many injuries and loss of life. But how fast do tornadoes spin? Are some tornadoes more deadly than others because of greater wind speeds? They form when moist, warm air collides with cold, dry air. Typically, the denser cold air pushes over the warm air, creating a thunderstorm. But when warm air rises through the cold air, it gains speed and causes an updraft.

When more air and moisture is swept up into updraft, it will swell and form a rotating funnel at its center, called a vortex.

With enough pressure and weight, the funnel cloud will continue to grow and eventually move toward the ground, becoming a tornado. Tornadoes vary in intensity, size, and appearance. Wind speeds may range from 65 mph to more than mph. The Enhanced Fujita EF Scale is used in classifying tornadoes according to estimated wind speed and damage. It is composed of six categories which start with EF0 gusts from mph and end with EF6 gusts from mph classifying the wind speed.

A total of 28 damage indicators are used to observe the extent of damage, and then matched to the tornado wind speed scale.

The indicators include damage to properties, infrastructure, and wildlife, among many others. In the northern hemisphere, tornadoes spin counterclockwise or similar to the direction as a cyclone, while in the southern hemisphere, tornadoes spin in a clockwise direction.

The Coriolis effect or Coriolis force influences why tornadoes spin in an anti-clockwise direction in the northern hemisphere. That allows a tornado to form. Most tornadoes form during supercell thunderstorms, but not all supercell thunderstorms produce tornadoes. Usually, the rotating air near the ground doesn't rotate fast enough, for a tornado to form. If the rotating air near the ground is very cold, it will spread away from the storm along the ground and slow down like a figure skater with extended arms, and a tornado will not form.

Skip to main content. More Tornado Articles. Tornado Learning Activities. Hail, or any particular pattern of rain, lightning or calmness, is not a reliable predictor of tornado threat. A funnel cloud is a tight rotating column of air that is often the start of a tornado that never reaches the ground. Storms can produce funnel clouds, but never produce a tornado. The tornado went on for miles, making it the longest ever recorded. A space tornado is a solar windstorm and is exponentially larger and more powerful than conventional tornadoes on Earth.