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Tornado in Manitoba
Photograph by Richard Olsenius
A tightly wound tornado funnel twists through open prairie in Manitoba, Canada. Tornadoes are pillars of rapidly rotating air that develop in tall, dense cumuliform clouds that are associated with thunderstorms and bad weather.
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"Mother Ship" Cloud
Photograph by Carsten Peter
A rare mother ship cloud formation hovers over Childress, Texas. Tornado chasers there covered seven hours and 150 miles (240 kilometers) tracking the supercell thunderstorm that produced this cloud formation. Supercell thunderstorms are known to spawn tornadoes with winds exceeding 200 miles an hour (322 kilometers an hour).
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Stormy Skies
Photograph by Carsten Peter
Masses of dark clouds and a crack of lightning over a prairie in the Midwest set the stage for tornadoes. Tornadoes frequently occur in conjunction with spring and summer thunderstorms, but they can spin off abruptly, at any time of year, in any condition.
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Tornado and Storm Clouds
Photograph by Carsten Peter
A slender twister spins under storm-streaked skies in the U.S. In addition to typical land twisters, tornadoes may form over desert (dust devils), forest fires or volcanoes (firewhirls), or oceans (waterspouts).
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Tornado Conditions
Photograph by Carsten Peter
Heavy clouds hang low over a homestead in the Midwest, foretelling a possible tornado. Tornadoes form when the updrafts of air that supply storms with warm, humid air become a vortex, or high-speed whirlwind.
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Impending Tornado
Photograph by Priit Vesilind
An impending tornado darkens skies over the Colorado plains. Most tornadoes are 400 to 500 feet (122 to 152 meters) wide, travel four or five miles (six to eight kilometers) and last just a few minutes.
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