Hurricane & Tornado 101

[CJK]

Could someone give a basic definition/explanation of what the difference is between a hurricane and tornado? I know that both are equally frightening although am I right in thinking hurricanes cover more space?

 

[dturner]

Originally posted by CJK
Could someone give a basic definition/explanation of what the difference is between a hurricane and tornado? I know that both are equally frightening although am I right in thinking hurricanes cover more space?

I could be VERY wrong but I always thought a Hurricane originates over water and a tornado originates over land.

Don't flame me if I'm wrong but that is what I always thought since you never hear of a Hurricane in say Kansas.

 

[dturner]

Found something on the web that defines the difference better than I did:

Tornadoes

Tornadoes occur in most parts of the world. However they are most frequent over the continental plains of the USA.

Tornadoes are typically identified as a funnel of spiraling air descending from the base of clouds to the earth. The tornado is usually narrow, about 1/2 km wide and rarely does it move more than 20 km.

Like hurricanes the precise mechanism of how the funnel forms in not understood.

Hurricane

Tropical Storms start within 8º and 15º north and south of the equator where surface sea temperatures reach 27ºC. The air above the warm sea is heated and rises. This causes low pressure.


The weather system generates heat which powers the storm, causing wind speeds to increase. This causes the Tropical Storm to sustain itself. Tropical storms rely on plenty of warm, moist air from the sea - this is why they die out over land.

The central part of the tropical storm is known as the eye. The eye is usually between 30-50km across. It is an area of calm, with light winds and no rain. It contains descending air. Large cumulonimbus clouds surround the eye. These are caused by moist air condensing as it rises. Wind speeds average 160km per hour around the eye. You can read more about tropical storms

 

[doxdogy]

This site would be able to give you some information.

http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/tcfaqHED.html

Basically hurricanes do form out in the open waters of the ocean. They start out as a tropical depression. There are 5 categories of hurricanes. 1 is the lowest on the scale. With a hurricane you days of ahead of time to prepare yourself before they strike. A tornado there is generally no or sufficient warning to prepare. If I am not mistaken, the winds of a tornado can be much higher than the winds of a hurricane. Hurricanes are fascinating to study and track. Hoping that we don't get to much from Frances here in Jacksonville.

 

[CJK]

Wow, thanks so much to you both. We don't get hurricanes up here, but we've sure had devastating tornadoes. Prayers are with all of you in Frances' path.

 

[Figment22]

Both hurricanes and tornados can bring devastation but as you can see from Frances the one thing you get with a hurricane is some time to prepare and evacuate if necessary. Tornados are very scary because they give little to no warning and often no chance to escape.

 

[Figment2]

Once hurricanes hit land they can spawn tornados

C.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Just a bit of info. Tropical storms are called hurricanes that spawn in the Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea, cyclones in the Indian Ocean area and typhoons in the Pacific, though all are high end tropical storms.