When is a tornado officially labeled as a tornado?

Answer 1

A tornado is a tornado when there is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the ground and a type of cloud above it.

A tornado is a tornado when there is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the ground and a type of cloud above it. The definition does not require a funnel cloud nor any particular speed of rotation. Check out the Definition section in the wiki article below:

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The Fujita Scale is used to rate tornados and the damage they cause (there is an updated one that came out in 2007 with a lot more detail to it than necessary for this answer - but know that it is out there). The original scale is here:

Developed in 1971 by T. Theodore Fujita of the University of Chicago

#color(blue)("Scale ") -> color(purple)("Wind Estimate mph ") -> "Typical Damage"#

  • #color(blue)("F"0):" "color(purple)(< 73) -># Light damage

Some damage to chimneys; branches broken off trees; shallow-rooted trees pushed over; sign boards damaged.

  • #color(blue)("F"1):" "color(purple)(73-112) -># Moderate damage

Peels surface off roofs; mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned; moving autos blown off roads.

  • #color(blue)("F"2): " "color(purple)(113-157) -># Considerable damage

Roofs torn off frame houses; mobile homes demolished; boxcars overturned; large trees snapped or uprooted; light-object missiles generated; cars lifted off ground.

  • #color(blue)("F"3): " " color(purple)(158-206) -># Severe damage

Roofs and some walls torn off well-constructed houses; trains overturned; most trees in forest uprooted; heavy cars lifted off the ground and thrown.

  • #color(blue)("F"4): " " color(purple)(207-260) -># Devastating damage

Well-constructed houses leveled; structures with weak foundations blown away some distance; cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  • #color(blue)("F"5):" " color(purple)(261-318) -># Incredible damage

Strong frame houses leveled off foundations and swept away; automobile-sized missiles fly through the air in excess of 100 meters (109 yds); trees debarked; incredible phenomena will occur.

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT F-SCALE WINDS: Do not use F-scale winds literally. These precise wind speed numbers are actually guesses and have never been scientifically verified.

Different wind speeds may cause similar-looking damage from place to place -- even from building to building. Without a thorough engineering analysis of tornado damage in any event, the actual wind speeds needed to cause that damage are unknown.

The Enhanced F-scale will be implemented February 2007.

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And here's a video with details about tornado speeds, damage, etc...

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Answer 2

When a rotating column of air contacts the ground and is accompanied by a visible condensation funnel, it is officially labeled as a tornado.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.

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