There are two types of tornados, supercell and non-supercell. Pretty easy to remember! They both have different ways to form.
I will explain both with diagrams at the bottom :)
Supercell tornados:
Supercells are a thunderstorm characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone: a deep, persistently rotating updraft.
Supercell tornados usually, but not necessarily start in thunderstorms -that contain updrafts that rotate that contain updrafts that rotate about a vertical axis. This rotation is derived from shear in the environmental wind field that is, a change in wind direction and/or speed with height surrounding the storm as it begins to grow.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Non-super cell:
Non-supercell tornadoes are circulations that do not form from organized storm-scale rotation. These tornadoes form from a vertically spinning parcel of air already occurring near the ground caused by wind shear from a warm, cold, or sea breeze front, or a dryline.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Questions about this chapter? Feel free to put them in the comments.
