Alternate theory on Tornado winds

[gadjitfreek]

14. As a storm chaser...

I believe you are developing an idea, not a theory. A theory is a term that is only applied after rigorous testing and confirmation by independent research. It's not even a hypothesis because a hypothesis suggests experimental design. Sorry, chemistry teacher here and I get a little crazy when I hear the word "theory" misapplied. It's how the creationists get away with denigrating evolution as "only a theory".

Tornadoes form as a result of differential wind fields. First, an updraft forms, due to rapidly cooling air aloft. The updraft pulls in air from the surrounding area, called "inflow". As the updraft begins to become rain-forming, the rain comes down, dragging air with it, forming a "downdraft". Wind shear causes the storm to rotate counterclockwise, pulling some of the forward flank downdraft into a rear flank downdraft. At the point where the wind fields from the FFD (the "gust front&quot , RFD and inflow intersect, you get a mesocyclone. The combination of updraft and RFD pulls the horizontal vorticity into a vertical column of rotating air. The complex wind fields that result make the damage impossible to predict. You are correct in that the RFD is really the key to the whole thing but not the only ingredient. There is PLENTY of horizontal wind speed to get into a house, lift up the roof, allowing the side walls to collapse. There is a great video made by chaser Tim Samaras of the June 24th, 2003 tornado that took out the town of Manchester, SD, that shows in slow motion this very thing happening. I can't find it on YouTube but it was broadcast on The Weather Channel that day and is part of Tim Samaras' DVD of storm chase footage.

Another contributor is that massive wedge tornadoes like this consist of a multitude of smaller subvortices that individually are more damaging than the tornado as a whole.

After OKC was narrowly missed on Sunday by another giant wedge that started out as a multiple-vortex tornado a deep breath of relief was sighed out by all...but yesterday's storm was a real disaster. As a storm chaser, I like my storms out in the open fields where no one will be impacted. No one wants to see a storm like this, EVER. Don't relax your vigilance...the severe weather continues today. I have never seen so many consecutive days of Moderate rated convective outlooks from www.spc.noaa.gov over the same area. Today SE OK and E TX are in the crosshairs so if you live in this area, please be very careful today and have a shelter in mind at all times.