what causes tornadoes to form and why are they so often along the same historical paths?
In: Physics
For the most part; a tornado forms when nice warm, moist air collides with cooler air. **It is the temperature difference in the air masses that provide the energy needed**. In the USA, as the Gulf water warms up air masses to the South they tend to flow North and collide with arctic air masses coming South out of the Dakotas from the Arctic VIA Canada.
Most of the winter the Gulf air isn’t warm enough to create such a difference in the air masses. To the West, to some degree, the Rocky Mountains aid in keeping “Tornado Alley”to it’s East. It just so happens that these masses tend to collide over what we know as “Tornado Alley.” As Spring progresses, these air masses shift to the “Midwest” away from the plains as a general trend.
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