Fluids & atmospheric physics › Tornado formation
Tornado formation laboratory
Build a rotating supercell and explore how instability, wind shear and a powerful updraught can produce a tornado.
How tornado formation works
Warm, humid surface air supplies buoyancy while colder air aloft increases instability. Changing wind speed with height creates horizontal rotation. A strong thunderstorm updraught can tilt and stretch that rotation into a vertical mesocyclone. If circulation tightens beneath the cloud base, pressure falls and a condensation funnel may descend. It becomes a tornado only when the circulation reaches the ground.
Educational reduced-order visualisation. Tornado development is considerably more complex, and the displayed intensity is not an official Enhanced Fujita rating or weather forecast.