tornadoes
Destructive spinning winds
Tornadoes is the plural of tornado—a violently rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground.
Tornadoes form when warm, moist air meets cold, dry air, creating powerful updrafts that can spin into funnel clouds.
They range from brief, weak twisters to devastating storms that level entire neighborhoods: The tornadoes that struck the Midwest left thousands homeless.
Cone directing flow
- whirlwindViolently rotating air column
- rotationTurning on an axis
- swirlRotating, curving movement
- spiralCurve winding around center
suction · cyclonic · twister · dust devil · whirl · churn · rotating · spin
Rotating severe thunderstorm
- mesocycloneRotating updraft in supercells
- funnel cloudRotating condensation pendant
- wind shearRapid atmospheric velocity shift
- storm chaserOne who pursues tornadoes
cumulonimbus · waterspout · landspout · updraft · downdraft · storm cell · squall line · convective
Severe widespread destruction
- debrisScattered broken fragments
- wreckageDestroyed remains of something
- flattenedMade smooth or level
- uprootedRemoved from foundation
demolished · aftermath · displaced · shattered · leveled · obliterated · rubble · path
South Central U.S. state
- KansasCentral American plains state
- TexasSecond-largest American state
- plainsBroad, level grasslands
- MidwestNorth-central American region
prairie · Bangladesh · flatland · mobile home · storm shelter · cellar · heartland · Great Plains
funnel
Cone directing flow
spiral · suction · cyclonic · twister · dust devil · whirl · churn · rotating · spin · column
supercell
Rotating severe thunderstorm
- mesocycloneRotating updraft in supercells
- funnel cloudRotating condensation pendant
- wind shearRapid atmospheric velocity shift
storm chaser · cumulonimbus · waterspout · landspout · updraft · downdraft · storm cell · squall line · convective · troposphere
devastation
Severe widespread destruction
uprooted · demolished · aftermath · displaced · shattered · leveled · obliterated · rubble · path · swath
Oklahoma
South Central U.S. state
Midwest · prairie · Bangladesh · flatland · mobile home · storm shelter · cellar · heartland · Great Plains · springtime
- catastrophesdisasters, disaster, natural disasters, catastrophe, apocalypse
- Humid Southhigh humidity, hot summers, mild winters, muggy weather, sticky heat
- Plainswheat fields, grain elevators, windmills, silos, grain silos
- wind effectshurricanes, sand storms, dust storms, blizzards, gusts
- City BuildersSimCity, city planning, population, buildings, residential zones
- Great PlainsGreat Plains, high plains, High Plains, grassland, grasslands
tornadoesstill air
Air not moving
calm · stillness · dead calm · windlessness · doldrums
tornadoesfair weather
Pleasant, dry climate
clear skies · settled weather · anticyclone · blue skies · sunny day
- tornado warningImminent vortex notification
- tornado shelterProtected area during cyclones
- tornado watchRotating storm conditions possible
- tornado sirenEmergency weather warning device
- tornado seasonPeriod of frequent cyclones
- tornado alleyFunnel-prone geographic zone