What is the difference between tornado warnings and watches

Below, we outline the definitions for a tornado watch and tornado warning, along with other terms that are good to know during a severe weather event. Tornado Watch This is issued when conditions are favorable for the development of tornadoes in and close to the watch area. Their size can vary depending on the weather situation. They are usually issued for a duration of 4 to 8 hours. They normally are issued well in advance of the actual occurrence of severe weather.

During the watch, people should review tornado safety rules and be prepared to move a place of safety if threatening weather approaches. Similar to a severe thunderstorm warning, once a tornado warning is issued for your area, you should take cover immediately With this new profound knowledge you'll be better prepared the next time severe weather threatens your area.

But sometimes, watches and warnings are not enough to fit the specific needs of businesses and comapanies. That's where WeatherWorks comes in! Data from observed storms have been used to simulate tornadoes by computer, such as with the Blue Waters supercomputer at University of Illinois. Getting measurements of winds, moisture and other weather variables for thousands of feet of atmosphere cannot be done over large areas in real-time, yet.

And the amount of data that would create requires a supercomputer to chug through it. Even when all the right conditions are present for tornado development, a tornado might not form. There may also be multiple mechanisms for tornado development. What causes a small tornado associated with a bowed thunderstorm complex may not be the same as what causes a large tornado associated with a supercell storm. All that being said, the research is progressing and there may be a time in the not too distant future when the lead time for issuing a warning can be significantly increased.

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