Home
Weather New York
WeatherRadar
RainRadar
TemperatureRadar
WindRadar
LightningRadar
Weather News
Editor's Pick
Discover the app
Weather widget
Contact us
Apps
Career
    Home / Editor's Pick /

    Ahead of the film release: Defining twister terms

07:29 PM
July 17, 2024

Ahead of the film release
Defining twister terms

Tornadoes are among the fiercest and awe-inspiring natural disasters to hit Earth, but are you aware of how they form their famous spirals?

With Twisters set to release in theaters nationally on Wednesday, July 17th, here are some tornado facts you might like to know ahead of your theater trip. A "typical" tornado usually comes from a supercell storm, while landspouts are not produced by supercells.

Did you know?

In an average year, about 1,000 tornadoes are reported across the United States, resulting in 80 deaths and over 1,500 injuries.

Destructive tornado tears apart the countryside near Minden, Iowa during a tornado outbreak on April 26th 2024.
Destructive tornado tears apart the countryside near Minden, Iowa during a tornado outbreak on April 26th 2024.

They form from rotating thunderstorms that have a well-defined mesocyclone, or rotating updraft. This is a supercell thunderstorm. Tornadoes usually occur over land and are often accompanied by strong winds, hail, and heavy rain.

However, another type are landspouts. Landspouts form over land but are generally smaller and weaker than tornadoes produced by supercells. They form from the ground up, rather than from a mesocyclone, and are associated with shallow, low-precipitation thunderstorms.

Waterspouts can then be either tornadic, or non-tornadic, and are atmospheric vortices that form over water. They can occur in tropical and non-tropical environments and are often associated with thunderstorms, but they can also form without thunderstorm activity.

Make sure to come back to our app every evening to learn more about these phenomena. Each evening we will showcase a different aspect including how our chasers come face to face with these monsters and their aftermath.

Weather & Radar USA editorial team

More on the topic

How does fog form?. Multiple ways. . . Saturday, September 12, 2026
Saturday, September 12, 2026

Multiple ways

How does fog form?
Hurricane Polo remains dangerous. Active Pacific. . . Thursday, September 24, 2026
Thursday, September 24, 2026

Active Pacific

Hurricane Polo remains dangerous
What are weather fronts?. Weather explained. . . Saturday, October 24, 2026
Image of a temperature radar showing a clear distinction between a warm and cold air mass separated by a cold front.
Saturday, October 24, 2026

Weather explained

What are weather fronts?
All weather news

This might also interest you

King tide brings coastal flood threat. Weekend trouble. . . Friday, October 23, 2026
Friday, October 23, 2026

Weekend trouble

King tide brings coastal flood threat
Severe risk in southern Rockies. Large hail, tornadoes. . . Friday, October 23, 2026
Friday, October 23, 2026

Large hail, tornadoes

Severe risk in southern Rockies
Rare tornado risk accompanies flood risk. Autumn tropical influx. . . Wednesday, October 21, 2026
Southwest rainfall
Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Autumn tropical influx

Rare tornado risk accompanies flood risk
All articles
Weather & Radar

Weather & Radar is also available on

Google Play StoreApp Store

Company

Contact us Privacy policy Legal info Accessibility statement

Services

Uploader

Socials

instagramfacebookthreadslinkList