What are early signs of an approaching tornado?

Question

What are early signs of an approaching tornado?

Answer 1

when whe she starts blowing. oh you mean a tornado i thought you said tiffiney. when youy see it throwing cows/tiffiney

Answer 2

Calm

Silence

Wall cloud

ears may pop

or you may hear what sounds like a train.

It didn't sound like one to me when we had one, it sounded more like a jack hammer.

Answer 3

green tint in the sky, wall clouds, funnel clouds

Answer 4

I lived in Tornado Alley for eight years.  Winds were cyclic and strong, temps would change, getting warm, and then cold, then there's sometimes be hail storms, lots of lightening and thunder.  All of these are results of when a warm front hits a cold front, as is a tornado.  I hope this helped.

Answer 5

The little warning that goes along the bottom of your tv screen and goes Beep...Beep..Beep...Tornado Warning in Effect for the following Counties....

Answer 6

Tornadoes are associated with thunderheads or 'supercells.'

They USUALLY are on the trailing edge of storm, so You may mistakenly think the worse is over after a hailstorm that sometimes preceeds a tornado.

They are unpredictable but are usually develop into a rotating mushroom stem at the base of a storm called a wall cloud.

A wall cloud is a tighter rotating mass.

If You see a well developed wall cloud, I would be worried if it was to the Southwest of Me.

That and an old lady on a bicycle flying by with Toto.

Gary

Garden City, KS

Answer 7

Greenish cast to the sky

Hail may begin to fall

Air suddenly becomes still and calm

You may see a cloud of debris with no funnel yet attached.

All signs of approaching tornado, take cover at once. It is also a good idea to listen to radio or tv for warnings or if you live in a town, sirens will sound.

Answer 8

Flying mobile homes.

Answer 9

Look for Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt driving by at a high rate of speed.

Answer 10

I actually tried to give a straight answer but that Helen Hunt Bill Paxton comment was priceless. Vote that one big time.

Seriously, if you live in an area prone to tornadoes, if it is warm and there are lots of clouds, then a tornado is very possible. Listen to the radio for updates...

Answer 11

very hot muggy weather

Answer 12

The sky gets a dark green-black, the winds are crossing each other, the clouds get lower and they also seem to rotate, the sky gets low, the sirens go off and the wind seem to go from left to right to right to left very fast.

Answer 13

green skies

Answer 14

A wicked witch of the East.

Answer 15

LOL at Xeo

Answer 16

hot muggy weather. a hardcore storm. a sudden coolness on a hot day. and a funnel cloud are all i no

Answer 17

There are numerous signs, and you don't need all of them, and you may not see any of them, but the best bet is that you will encounter a few of these signs.

First, it depends on where you live.   Different regions can show different signs in the hours ahead of a tornadic event.   A few of those signs are mentioned in other answers, but they differed a bit from my personal experience in North Central North Dakota where I was a meteorologist and storm chaser.

The most common signs of an imminent tornado would be, as others said, a calm period after a period of heavy rain and/or hail, especially severe sized hail - 3/4 inches in diameter, roughly golf ball-sized.   And contrary to what you'll hear in the movie Twister, this is NOT called the cone of silence.   That is a reference to a the blind spot above a radar observation site.   It is often refered to as a rain free base -- a portion of the base that is, well, rain free.

Another would be the relative portion of the storm.   The right rear quadrant of the storm, relative to movement, is where tornadoes drop down from.   That is, if the cell is moving towards the East, the tornado will drop in the Southwest portion; moving North, it will fall in the Southeast.

Also mentioned by others is the wall cloud.   It visually appears as a section of cloud jutting from the bottom of the main storm.   There is often rotation which is visible and causes banding quite often.   This is where the tornado will drop from, as it is the center of rotation of the storm, also known as a mesocyclone.   Note, however, that the appearance of a wall cloud does not guarantee a tornado, and the lack of a wall cloud does not guarantee a tornado will not occur.

Of course, the most obvious warning is the funnel cloud.

At night, keep an eye out for the wall cloud, visible during flashes of lightning.   Also?   Watch for power lines.   If there are areas where you know there are power lines that you can see sparks flying from, your safe bet is a tornado.   True, it could just be strong wind and debris knocking down the lines, but then, a tornado IS strong winds and debris -- just spinning tightly instead of blowing straight.   And really, getting hit by either one isn't very fun.

Answer 18

Look for a green tint to the sky

Answer 19

despite all of the answers above, a green sky means nothing.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=fact...

what you do need to look for is a wall cloud. it drops down like an anvil shape on the back end of the cloud usually. that is where the tornado will form. and really, the only true signs of an approaching tornado is to listen to your radio. there may be hail, heavy rain, and silence but that doesnt always mean tornado. also, just because there is a wall cloud or rotation even, doesnt mean that you will have a tornado. just listen to the radio and watch the tv and you will know!

Answer 20

green sky?