How are tornadoes and hurricanes similar and how are they different?

Answer 1

THE LINK PROVIDED HAS MORE ABOUT THE HURRICANE PORTION.

While both tropical cyclones and tornadoes are atmospheric vortices, they have little in common. Tornadoes have diameters on the scale of 100s of meters and are produced from a single convective storm (i.e. a thunderstorm or cumulonimbus). A tropical cyclone, however, has a diameter on the scale of 100s of kilometers and is comprised of several to dozens of convective storms. Additionally, while tornadoes require substantial vertical shear of the horizontal winds (i.e. change of wind speed and/or direction with height) to provide ideal conditions for tornado genesis, tropical cyclones require very low values (less than 10 m/s [20 kt, 23 mph]) of tropospheric vertical shear in order to form and grow. These vertical shear values are indicative of the horizontal temperature fields for each phenomenon: tornadoes are produced in regions of large temperature gradient, while tropical cyclones are generated in regions of near zero horizontal temperature gradient. Tornadoes are primarily an over-land phenomena as solar heating of the land surface usually contributes toward the development of the thunderstorm that spawns the vortex (though over-water tornadoes, or waterspouts do occurr). In contrast, tropical cyclones are purely an oceanic phenomena - they die over land due to the loss of a moisture source. Lastly, tropical cyclones have a lifetime that is measured in days, while tornadoes typically last on the scale of minutes. For more information on tornadoes you can go to the Storm Prediction Center's FAQ maintained by Roger Edwards.

Tropical cyclones at landfall often provide the conditions necessary for tornado formation. As the tropical cyclone makes landfall and begins decaying, the winds at the surface die off quicker than the winds at, say, 850 mb. This sets up a fairly strong vertical wind shear that allows for the development of tornadoes, especially on the tropical cyclone's right side (with respect to the forward motion of the tropical cyclone). For the southern hemisphere, this would be a concern on the tropical cyclone's left side - due to the reverse spin of southern hemisphere storms. (Novlan and Gray 1974).

Answer 2

Similarities Between Tornadoes And Hurricanes

Answer 3

Hmm. Bit of guesswork going on here.

Hurricanes are a complete and severe cyclonic weather system.

Tornados are localised events, spawned by severe thunderstorms.

The winds in a Hurricane are a result of the circulation of the whole system, and may be 100s kms wide. Tornados are localised spinning air masses, caused by the meeting of different air masses within a thunderstorm, and are generally less than 1 km wide.

Answer 4

okay hurricanes have multiple tornadoes in them while a tornado is a tornado....also a tornado does not come from a storm that developes in the ocean but a huge thunderstorm with alot of electricity in them...

Answer 5

A tropical cyclone is a typhoon device characterized with the aid of a extensive low-rigidity middle and distinctive thunderstorms that produce reliable winds and heavy rain. A twister is a violent, risky, rotating column of air that's in touch with the two the exterior of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud in different words a cyclone is a mixture of storms and tough winds that flood coastal areas and blow down homes properly a twister is in simple terms organic wind in a funnel shape (shapes can exchange) and doesnt final for as long and is greater centred in a tiny area ... they are comparable interior the way that they are shaped with the aid of air prssure :P .... wish this helped

Answer 6

Similariy=They are both natural disasters and both causes great damage.
Difference=Tornadoes form on land while Hurricanes form in water.

Answer 7

Hi,
I think it is best to make a list of the differences and similarities between tornadoes and hurricanes.
SIMILARITIES
* The centre of both vortices are of much lower pressure than the atmospheric pressure outside these systems.
*Both systems rotate about its axis.
*Both systems have the potential of inflicting severe damage.
*Both vortices can occur during spring through to autumn and typically decrease in frequency in the cooler months of the year.
*Both systems can occur on both sides of the equator at the same time depending if the atmospheric conditions are conducive to their formation.
*Both systems do not normally form within 5 degrees north and south of the equator.
*Tornadoes occur when the vortice touches the ground surface whereas a hurricane involves the rotation of a cluster of thunderstorms revolving around a deep low pressure system known as the eye.

DIFFERENCES
*Most tornadoes form in single cumulonimbus clouds mostly on land. Typically these clouds begin to rotate in which case they are known as supercells. Whereas hurricanes form over water that exceeds 26 deg C (79 deg F). The warm ocean temperatures provides the energy requred to form a cluster of thunderstorms spiralling around an area of low atmospheric pressure. If hurricanes cross land surfaces they begin to weaken as they have lost their main source of energy (the warm ocean).

*A Hurricane rotates anti-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere since it is constrained by the Earth's rotation (i.e. Coriolis force). A tornado in contrast can rotate in both directions in either hemisphere as it is not contrained by the Earth's rotation since the width of its rotation is at maximum 500 metres across, which is so much smaller than that of a hurricane.

*A tornado is much smaller but attains higher windspeeds than a hurricane. The maximum windspeed in a tornado is around 460-500km/hr whereas in a hurricane it is around 350km/hr. Although, a hurricane that is intensifying as it moves towards land typically has tornadoes being spawned in the eye of the hurricane.

* A tornado has a much lower central pressure than a hurricane and this in itself is responsible for a lot structural damage to buildings it passes near to.

*When a tornado obtains a critical velocity it begins to split and form multiple vortices. These are far more dangerous than a single funnel as you now have multiple funnels rotating randomly around the previous single tornado location. These multiple tornadoes can rotate in opposite directions to each other and so you can effectively double the windspeed if you are between the two tornadoes. A hurricane may approach another but the two systems become one if they meet. When this occurs, the windspeed does not increase.

I hope this helps.

Answer 8

They are both natural disasters that cause damage.

Tornadoes are on land, Hurricanes form in water like the ocean.

Answer 9

The National Hurricane Center's website has a great resource covering this topic. No need to copy & paste...
http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/L1.html
http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/tcfaqL.html

Answer 10

Hi. I will give you a hint. Look at the size of each and look at the wind velocities of each.