A Tornado on Planet Earth
Explanation:
Large storms on Earth can spawn unusual,
small, violent clouds known as tornadoes.
Tornado clouds
swirl as fast as hundreds of kilometers per second and,
when they touch down, can
destroy nearly everything in their
long, narrow path.
Many
tornadoes last only a few minutes,
but the largest and most dangerous can endure for hours.
The
above image, although somewhat unfocussed, appears to show a dropping funnel
cloud interacting with a light pole.
If so, and this interpretation is controversial,
this photograph would be one of the few
indicating a clear distance to the funnel cloud.
The pictured tornado occurred in 1981 in Dallas,
Texas,
USA.
Tornadoes occur all over Earth
but are
most commonly found
over parts of central
North America during spring.
Much about
tornadoes remains under study, including predicting when they will occur.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
