• Question: how does a tornado spin around

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      Asked by 572cmte47 to Iain, Cat?, Elaine, Helena, Gabriel on 17 Mar 2016. This question was also asked by 888cmte47, 376cmte47, 647cmte47, 677cmte47.
      • Photo: Helena Quilter

        Helena Quilter answered on 17 Mar 2016:

        Hi guys! There are scientists who are still studying tornadoes to understand how they start to spin and keep spinning.

        Tornadoes sometimes happen with huge (supercell) thunderstorms. The tornadoes can be enormous – over 40,000 feet!

        Firstly a column of warm, humid air starts to rise upwards very quickly. The air begins to rotate because of wind shear – we think this might happen because of wind at different levels being different speeds but scientists are still trying to find out for sure. The tornado funnel forms. That starts to rotate. Rain and hail up in the clouds above start to fall and that makes the tornado funnel touch down to become a tornado! ?

      • Photo: Cat Scott ?

        Cat Scott ? answered on 18 Mar 2016:

        Hey guys,

        You can make your own mini-tornado in a bottle so that you can have a look at it! Get someone to help you if you want to try this though, otherwise you might end up with water everywhere (I did!)

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