What happens when two tornadoes meet?
Sep 04, 2010
in
Tornado Questions
Like two different tornadoes in the same storm meet and come in contact, what happens? does one tear up the other or do they combine?
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3 comments
Lord Saddler on September 4, 2010 at 11:48 pm
They usually exchange phone numbers
Earth Man on September 4, 2010 at 11:48 pm
Since it is not known how often tornadoes merge, nor is it known except in one or two cases what happened afterward based on resulting damage, that is a difficult question to answer. What’s known is that in at least one well-documented case, a weakening tornado merged with a developing tornado, vaulting the developing tornado to violent status.
On March 13, 1990, a violent tornado, rated F5 on the six-tier Fujita tornado intensity scale, struck Hesston, Kansas. As the Hesston tornado was roping out, or about to die, a new tornado spun up nearby under the same thunderstorm. As the new tornado grew, the Hesston tornado was pulled into it. Video of the merger showed the new tornado quickly expand in size and its damage pattern widened and became more severe shortly after. The new tornado was just as strong as the Hesston tornado when it struck Goessel, killing two people.
Another close encounter, though not actually a merge, occurred at Caruthersville, Missouri in early April of 2006.s
Individual vortices (sometimes three or more) can and do occur within very large tornado circulations, in what is called a multiple vortex tornado. However, these remain individual.
I Have No Life on September 4, 2010 at 11:48 pm
MEGA TORNADO!!!