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Photograph by Carsten Peter
Hoping to catch a twister in the making, tornado-chasers look for massive storms like this one in the midwestern United States. -
Photograph by Priit Vesilind
This storm in Colorado looks ready to create a tornado. Most tornadoes are 400 to 500 feet (120 to 150 meters) wide, travel about four or five miles (six to eight kilometers), and last just a few minutes. -
Photograph by Richard Olsenius
A tightly wound tornado funnel forms over the prairie in Manitoba, Canada. Tornadoes usually develop during strong thunderstorms. -
Photograph by Carsten Peter
Big storms like this one in the midwestern United States are where most tornadoes form. Air that gets pulled up into a storm can sometimes begin to spin. If conditions are just right, a tornado occurs. -
Photograph by Carsten Peter
This rare tornado in Childress, Texas, is called a "mother ship" formation because it looks like a UFO from the movies. Tornado-chasers in Texas spent seven hours and drove 150 miles (241 kilometers) tracking the storm that created this tornado. -
Photograph by Carsten Peter
Tornadoes have different names depending on where they form. Ones over the desert are called dust devils. In forest fires or volcanoes they are called firewhirls. Over oceans, they are called waterspouts.
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