Nature's Most Violent Wind

A tornado is a violently rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground. While hurricanes cover hundreds of kilometers, a tornado's destruction path may be only a few hundred meters wide — but within that path, wind speeds can exceed 480 km/h, making tornadoes the most intense wind events on Earth.

Tornadoes form when wind shear — winds at different altitudes blowing at different speeds or directions — creates a horizontal rotating tube of air. A strong updraft in a thunderstorm tilts this tube vertical, and if it touches the ground, a tornado is born.