How do i know if the atmosphere is right for tornadoes to develop?

Question

How do i know if the atmosphere is right for tornadoes to develop?

Answer 1

if there are storms and if a high pressure area meets a  low pressure area, or if your under a tornado watch/warning

Answer 2

One gets the impression from luv_mazda's answer that tornados need the permission of scientists to form! With all the details presented as conquerment of tornados, he does however allow that it's all current theory, with lots of unexplained exceptions, and that lots of more work needs to be done. Humility before the great forces of nature's fury is a good place to start. Also that friction of air masses on each other, themselves, and the ground, which creates enormous static electricity charges which drives such things, and therefore is the key to understanding them, seems a major hint. Regards, Larry.

Answer 3

If the humidity is over 70 dew point it can get bad.

Answer 4

"The classic answer -- "warm moist Gulf air meets cold Canadian air and dry air from the Rockies" -- is a gross oversimplification. Many thunderstorms form under those conditions (near warm fronts, cold fronts and drylines respectively), which never even come close to producing tornadoes. Even when the large-scale environment is extremely favorable for tornadic thunderstorms, as in an SPC "High Risk" outlook, not every thunderstorm spawns a tornado. The truth is that we don't fully understand. The most destructive and deadly tornadoes occur from supercells -- which are rotating thunderstorms with a well-defined radar circulation called a mesocyclone. [Supercells can also produce damaging hail, severe non-tornadic winds, unusually frequent lightning, and flash floods.] Tornado formation is believed to be dictated mainly by things which happen on the storm scale, in and around the mesocyclone. Recent theories and results from the VORTEX program suggest that once a mesocyclone is underway, tornado development is related to the temperature differences across the edge of downdraft air wrapping around the mesocyclone (the occlusion downdraft). Mathematical modeling studies of tornado formation also indicate that it can happen without such temperature patterns; and in fact, very little temperature variation was observed near some of the most destructive tornadoes in history on 3 May 1999. The details behind these theories are given in several of the Scientific References accompanying this FAQ."

Hope this helps....

Answer 5

You would have to be in a pretty wicked thunderstorm. Hail is a good indicator that a tornado is possible. But hail can occur without a tornado present (obviously). You should just check your weather radar when bad storms hit. Find out what a "supercell" looks like on radar. There will be a little hook at the back and bottom usually. That's where tornadoes tend to form. Also, if you hear that a big storm is coming through go to this site http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook... It tells you the odds that weather capable of making tornadoes will hit. Moderate is bad even though it doesn't sound like it. That's when you should watch for Tornado warnings. Keep track of your radar mostly