How Does Tornadoes 101 | National Geographic Work?

Tornadoes are like giant spinning wind funnels that suck up everything in their path, just like a vacuum cleaner on steroids!

Tornadoes start with storms, big, angry clouds that fight with each other. When warm air meets cold air, it's like two kids pushing each other on a swing: one goes high, the other goes low. This push and pull makes the air spin really fast, creating a whirlwind in the sky.

Once the whirlwind gets going, it becomes a tornado, like a spinning straw that reaches down from the sky to the ground. Anything in its way, like trees, houses, or even cars, gets picked up and thrown around like toys in a tornado of fun!

Sometimes you can see a funnel cloud before the tornado hits, it looks like a giant cone made of clouds. That’s the tornado getting ready to come down and cause some serious chaos!