Supertornadoes: Are we ready to face them? Tornadoes are one of the most extreme and
dangerous phenomena in the world. They are wind vortices with a great capacity
to destroy everything in their path. Part of their destructive capacity is
that they are very difficult to predict. Currently, tornadoes only form in very few
areas of the world, but that could be about to change. Some scientists speculate that due to
climate change, tornadoes could begin to form in areas where they have never been seen before. They
could also become larger and more destructive due to temperature changes in the atmosphere,
which could end up forming SUPERTORNADOES. How dangerous would these super tornadoes be,
and what could we do to avoid them? Stay with us until the end to find out!
Since time immemorial, tornadoes have wreaked havoc and destruction in their path,
leaving a trail of devastation that survivors will never forget.
A tornado is a weather phenomenon characterized by a rotating air column extending from a storm
cloud to the Earth's surface. Although these columns of rotating air can vary in size,
duration, and intensity, they share a common characteristic: they are extremely dangerous.
To understand how we might face super tornadoes in the future, we must first understand
conventional tornadoes and how they form. For a tornado to form, very specific atmospheric
conditions are required, which are divided into different stages. The first necessary condition
is the presence of an unstable atmosphere. This means that there must be a significant
difference in temperature and humidity between different layers of the atmosphere, which creates
a vertical gradient of temperature and pressure. This instability can be caused by various factors,
including solar radiation, the convergence of wind at the surface, and a warm air mass
colliding head-on with a moist air mass. This difference in temperatures between
the layers causes an oscillation that results in fast, strong winds that eventually form a tornado.
Of course, this scenario does not occur spontaneously, and the only way something
like this can happen is through more significant phenomena such as cold
fronts or areas of convergence of winds such as mountains and plains near the Earth's poles.
These systems can provide the energy needed to fuel the storm and create
the right conditions for tornadoes to form. It should not be forgotten that most tornadoes
originate from supercell-type storms, which are long-lasting, large-scale storms with a
persistent rotation within them. These storms can generate strong upward winds that can create and
maintain the rotation necessary to form a tornado. Finally, the last ingredient to form a tornado is
wind clashes. Remember that warm air tends to rise while cold air tends to go down,
so when two air masses of different temperatures collide head-on, one tries to rise while the other
tries to go down. This produces a rotation of air masses, and if this occurs within a Supercell
type storm, the rotation of the wind can change direction and go from horizontal to vertical,
thus generating A mesocyclone, which is nothing more than the precursor of a tornado.
If the mesocyclone continues to be fed by different air masses from a storm,
it will gradually grow until a funnel is formed, which descends until it reaches the surface,
and then a tornado will form. A typical tornado is divided into
several distinct parts from each other. The most characteristic section of a tornado is the funnel,
which consists of the external visible part that extends from the ground to the clouds.
The most dangerous part of a tornado is the base because that's where the funnel
meets the earth's surface and where most of the destruction occurs. The winds are most robust
there, and the atmospheric pressure is lower. Inside the base are the extremely strong
gusts of wind that swirl around the funnel. These gusts can reach incredible speeds and
are responsible for most of a tornado's damage. Finally, we have the mother cloud, the storm cloud
from which the tornado is detached. It usually consists of a large, dense cumulonimbus cloud that
forms in association with severe thunderstorms. There are several types of tornadoes,
classified according to how they formed and their intensity. The most common tornadoes are
"supercell tornadoes," which originate from the abovementioned supercell storms. These
tornadoes are the largest, longest-lasting, most destructive, and most significant,
reaching several kilometers before dissipating. 2016 Kansas tornado, series of 8 images in
sequence showing the formation of a tornado: Another type of tornado is the "wedge tornado,"
which is characterized by a wide cone shape at the base. Due to their size and
strength, wedge tornadoes are usually very destructive, although they are less common.
Finally, "multiple tornadoes" are another interesting phenomenon,
where two or more tornadoes form and revolve around the same storm
system. These events can be even more dangerous as the area of destruction is more extensive
and can, therefore, wipe out larger areas. April 2, 1957 multiple tornado in Dallas, Texas:
As we can see, the formation of a tornado requires extreme conditions and the presence of different
factors that are only present in very few places on the planet. The only places on the planet where
the conditions for tornado formation are present are South Africa, much of Europe (except most of
the Alps), western and eastern Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, eastern India, Japan,
the Philippines, Canada, and a large area in South America where the countries of Argentina
converge. Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. However, the two places with the highest tornado
presence are the USA and South America, the only two places with tornado corridors. The
most famous is "Tornado Alley," an a vast region in the central US where tornadoes
are more conducive and cover parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska.
The second tornado corridor is the one found in South America,
in the region known as the "humid Pampas." In this region, all the conditions are present for
the formation of tornadoes and intense storms, due to the great extension of the Pampean Plain.
The cold air coming from Patagonia and Antarctica collides with the hot, humid,
and fast air coming from areas of Brazil, the northern region of Argentina, and Paraguay,
to which is added the dry air coming from the Andes Mountains. This combination produces intense
storms that manage to reach supercell status very frequently, and many generate intense hail and
tornadoes; although it is known that tornadoes in South America have a lower intensity than those in
the US and are not as frequent, that could change in the future due to climate change and especially
the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Faster and faster winds
As the planet experiences global warming, scientists are recording
stronger and stronger winds in different areas. Wind speed is one of tornadoes' most impactful
characteristics. The winds associated with these whirlwinds can reach incredible speeds,
often exceeding 200 miles per hour (about 300 kilometers per hour) in extreme cases.
This devastating force is capable of ripping a house from its base and even uprooting trees.
However, if the winds get faster, this could lead to increasingly destructive tornadoes. Differences
in atmospheric temperature between different regions create differences in air density and,
therefore, atmospheric pressure. These pressure differences generate
what meteorologists call a "pressure gradient," which drives the movement of air, i.e., wind. The
greater the temperature difference between the two areas, the higher the pressure gradient and,
therefore, the higher the wind speed. This means that as the temperature differences
increase, the bigger the tornadoes will become, as they will have much faster winds. This will
be observed mainly in the areas where these pressure gradients are most noticeable, i.e.,
in the areas referred to as tornado corridors. However, as global temperatures rise,
the conditions needed for a tornado to occur could begin to be present in regions
where tornadoes have never been seen before. This would mean that some countries worldwide
could start experiencing tornadoes, and countries with them, such as the US,
will have increasingly destructive tornadoes. The Fujita scale is the measurement system that
indicates the scale of destruction of tornadoes based on wind speed. This ranges from F0 to F5,
with F5 being the most devastating tornadoes. These can have winds of up to 318 miles per hour,
and they can lift an entire house into the air, and even uproot an entire building from the base.
These types of tornadoes are the most destructive there can be. Still, suppose global temperatures
continue to change within a very short time. In that case, we will have even more destructive
tornadoes, with strong winds that would ultimately go off the Fujita scale and be renamed with a
new category, Perhaps Super Tornadoes? At Insane Curiosity, we think it would be
a good name for this type of tornado, but we want your opinion. What name would you
give to a tornado that exceeds the F5 scale? These super tornadoes would be entirely off
the existing scales, exceeding the wind speeds that an F5 class tornado reaches; they could
reach winds of up to 400 miles per hour. With that force, these super tornadoes could
clean the area where they pass entirely, uprooting everything in their path—houses,
trees, buildings—lifting them into the skies and then dropping them hundreds of kilometers away.
The force of the wind would be so great that it would cause a whirlwind of rocks
and debris around it, impacting all the structures that would be left standing.
Super tornadoes are undoubtedly one of the most destructive and devastating events, but...
Is it possible that they will ever come into existence?
One of the most critical debates in the study of tornadoes is how climate change
may affect the frequency and intensity of these events. While science is still in the process
of fully understanding this relationship, some theories and observations are worth considering.
Rising global temperatures due to climate change could create more favorable atmospheric
conditions for the formation of severe storms and, thus, increasingly powerful tornadoes.
However, other scientists warn that the picture is more complicated and that more research is
still needed to understand how climate change affects tornadoes. Changes in atmospheric
patterns could cause some areas to experience an increase in the frequency and intensity of
tornadoes, while others could see a decrease. Ultimately, what is clear is that tornadoes will
continue to be a severe and constant threat as we face the challenges of climate change.
We must continue investigating and monitoring these events to understand their behavior better
and take practical steps to protect ourselves. Now we want to know your opinion: Will climate
change cause Super Tornadoes in the future? Let us know what you think in the comments!