Shape


Most tornadoes take on the traditional appearence of a narrow funnel, a few hundred yards across, with a small cloud of debris near the ground. However, tornadoes can appear in all manner of shapes and sizes. Small, relatively weak landspouts might only be visible as a small swirl of dust on the ground. Large single-vortex twisters, often violent in nature, can look like a large wedge stuck into the ground, thus they are known as wedge tornadoes or wedges. Wedges can be so wide that they appear to be no moreTornadoes in the dissipating stage can appear like narrow tubes, or ropes, twisting into all manner of curls, twists, and s-shapes. Multiple-vortex tornadoes can appear as a family of swirls circling a common center, or may be completely obscured by debris, appearing to be a single funnel.

In addition to these appearences, tornadoes may be obscured completely by rain or dust. These tornadoes are especially dangerous, as even experienced meteorologists might not spot them.

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