Words To Describe A Tornado

Words That Describe a Tornado

Are you interested in writing about the weather and looking for words to describe a tornado? Tornadoes are rotating columns of air that make contact with the surface of the Earth. They can range in strength from damaging trees to leveling houses and deforming skyscrapers. Tornadoes come in many forms and are often mistaken for other natural phenomena.

tornado funnel with storm vehicle

Types of Tornadoes

The word tornado is a broad term to draw a certain kind of common atmospheric condition issue that tin exist very dangerous. Most tornadoes are over chop-chop, leaving behind a wake of destruction and contrastingly serene weather after they pass. In that location are several different types of tornados.

cone tornado - the classic tornado shape; wide at the top and narrowing toward the lesser, similar in appearance to an upside-downward pyramid
landspout - rotation that forms over land when there are no thunderstorms in the area; doesn't final long
multiple vortex tornado - when 2 or more air columns make contact with the footing, rotating effectually each other.
rope tornado - relatively small-scale tornado with a rope-like appearance; nigh tornadoes start this style before growing in size
satellite tornado - a multiple vortex tornado that is surrounded by additional rope tornadoes
waterspout - a tornado over water; can develop fifty-fifty when there are no thunderstorms
- fair conditions waterspout - has relatively weak winds and smooth laminar wall
- tornadic waterspout - very powerful waterspout; often associated with severe thunderstorm

wedge tornado - very wide cone tornado; covers a huge expanse due to its massive width

Fujita Tornado Harm Scale

Tornadoes are some of the well-nigh destructive natural phenomena on Earth. There are many ratings for the intensity of a tornado, but the nigh famous one is the Enhanced Fujita Tornado Damage Scale. No list of vocabulary words for tornados would be consummate without mentioning this scale. It is based on how much damage a tornado tin cause to man-fabricated structures and vegetation. The scale was created past Ted Fujita in 1971 at the Academy of Chicago and was updated to the Enhanced Fujita Scale in 2007.

EF0 tornado - winds 65-85 mph; causes small impairment to tree branches and little to no damage to man-made structures
EF1 tornado - winds 85-110 mph; causes moderate damage and tin peel roofs off of houses or knock over automobiles
EF2 tornado - winds 111-135 mph; causes considerable damage and can uproot trees and knock over mobile homes
EF3 tornado - winds 136-165 mph; causes disquisitional impairment and can tear roofs and walls off of houses, overturn trains, uproot forests, and twist and deform skyscrapers
EF4 tornado - winds 166-200 mph; causes severe damage and tin can level well-constructed houses, throw cars and other big objects, likewise every bit destroy skyscrapers and highrises
EF5 tornado - winds 200-plus mph; causes devastating damage and tin can lift an unabridged firm into the air and disintegrate it besides every bit throw a motorcar about 100 meters; in the movie Twister an EF5 tornado was referred to as "the finger of God"

More Tornado Vocabulary Words

Tornadoes aren't described just in terms of their blazon and Fujita level. Build your science vocabulary by learning other words related to tornadoes.

long rail tornado - tornado (any type) that stays on the ground for 25 miles or more (very rare)
radar indicated tornado - weather radar indicates a rotation believed to be a tornado; not nonetheless confirmed through being spotted by a person
swath - the area on the ground damaged past a tornado
tornado path - the path a tornado traveled on the ground
tornado shelter - public space to which people tin can evacuate; on-holding shelters, such as basements, cellars or special structures constructed for protection against farthermost conditions conditions
tornado siren- tornado warning organisation available in some areas; sounds an alarm if a tornado is believed to be nearby
tornado alert - a tornado has been spotted in the expanse or is indicated on radar
tornado watch - conditions are favorable for tornadoes to develop
touch down - indicates that a tornado has made contact with the footing

Adjectives to Draw Tornadoes

Sometimes when you're writing nearly a tornado, what y'all are really looking for are the best adjectives to describe its advent or effects. There are many ways to describe a tornado, both in terms of how they audio or look, as well as their incredible power and the destruction they leave behind.

beautiful
compact
glowing (sky)
green (hue)
dark
deadly
devastating
eerie
eerily beautiful
enormous
fast-moving
ferocious
fierce
funnel-shaped
huge
loud (sound similar a freight train)
massive
powerful
short-lived
small
stunning
vicious
terrifying

Words Used to Describe a Tornado in Movies

Even people who don't live in areas where tornadoes are a threat have likely seen them depicted in movies. Tornadoes are described using a few different words in some popular movies.

Cyclone in The Wizard of Oz

In the famous 1939 motion-picture show The Magician of Oz, the principal character Dorothy is knocked unconscious by a tornado and wakes in the magical State of Oz. The moving-picture show referred to the tornado as a cyclone multiple times leading to the word whirlwind becoming a layman'southward term for a tornado. The enduring popularity of the movie has led to the term cyclone all the same being used today as a tornado word. The real definition of cyclone normally involves an area of fluid motion rotating in the same direction equally the globe.

Twister in the Film Twister

Similar The Magician of Oz, the movie Twister also popularized a new term for a tornado. The picture was released in 1996 and went on to become the offset Hollywood film to exist featured on the DVD format. Today, the term twister is synonymous with the word tornado due to the motion-picture show'south immense popularity.

Castilian Origin of the Discussion Tornado

The word tornado is thought to come from the Spanish word tronada which means thunderstorm. The give-and-take tronada comes from the Latin word tonare, which means to thunder. The modernistic discussion almost probable comes from a combination of the Spanish words tronada and tornar which means to turn. Now that you've learned the link between the Spanish linguistic communication and the word tornado, familiarize yourself with more than vocabulary words for weather condition in Spanish.

Develop Your Scientific discipline Expertise

Learning near tornadoes is a peachy way to build your knowledge of weather and science. If y'all're interested in continuing to learn more than about the natural earth and desire to go on edifice your scientific discipline-related vocabulary, explore vocabulary terms for sound and calorie-free.