Tornadoes and Related Phenomena

Abstract

Definition. The word “tornado” comes from the Spanish tronada (thunderstorm). In western and north central Africa, “tornado” refers to a thunderstorm. But elsewhere it means an intense spiral motion around a vertical or inclined axis, averaging about 250 yards across, with its lower part [17] often characterized by a narrow pendant cloud [12] extending from a cumulonimbus cloud base to or nearly to the ground.