A thick, dark cloud forms in the sky. Warm air from near the earth rises rapidly towards the cloud. At the bottom of the cloud, the air starts spinning. This wind spins and twists and drops down into the shape of a long tube, or funnel. This wind is called a tornado, or twister.
The funnel may touch the earth’s surface. When a tornado touches ground, it can be dangerous. It can pick up heavy machinery and toss it far. The winds of a tornado rip roofs from houses and uproot large trees.
Tornadoes can happen in many parts of the world. But most tornadoes happen over the central U.S.A. People have recorded whirlwinds about 480 kilometres per hour there.
A tornado is a whirling wind that reaches down from the clouds and touches the ground. But dust devils and sand pillars are whirling winds that go from the ground up into the sky. They are much smaller than a tornado.
Picture Credit : Google