What is the difference between a super cell and a tornado?

Basically, a super cell is a thunderstorm that is rotating.

And most tornadoes spawn from these supercell thunderstorms due to their rotation. They will often form on the Southwest portion of the supercell in a rain-free zone, though not always.

Tornadoes are very small compared to the parent supercell thunderstorm.

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RE:

What is the difference between a super cell and a tornado?

A supercell is responsible for a tornado.

Supercell is just a type of thunderstorm; it's tilted just enough so that the updraft is clear of the downdraft, allowing more and more warm moist air to "feed" the storm without the damper effects of the downdraft. If conditions are just right, a tornado forms from a mesocyclone located within the supercell.

A super cell is a very strong thunderstorm in a class of its own, that is more likely to spawn tornadoes. A tornado its self is the large twisting column of air that touches that ground and acts as a vacuum.

EDIT: Super cells also sometimes form mesocyclone which are small areas of very rapidly spinning air. These areas can develop strong tornadoes.

A supercell is a thunderstorm with a rotating updraft. Some supercells form tornadoes, but most do not. The strongest tornadoes almost always come from supercell thunderstorms, but many weak tornadoes do not.

A supercell is the severe storm system that spawns tornados. Check these websites.

Supercell thunderstorms are a special kind of single cell thunderstorm that can persist for many hours.

They are responsible for nearly all of the significant tornadoes produced in the U.S. and for most of the hailstones larger than golf ball size. Supercells are also known to produce extreme winds and flash flooding.

They are characterized by a rotating updraft (usually cyclonic ) which results from a storm growing in an environment of significant vertical wind shear. Wind shear occurs when the winds are changing direction and increasing with height.

The most ideal conditions for supercells occurs when the winds are veering or turning clockwise with height. For example, in a veering wind situation the winds may be from the south at the surface and from the west at 15,000 feet (4,500 meters).

Beneath the supercell, the rotation of the storm is often visible as well.

Supercells are divided into two main groups: Low precipitation (LP) and High Precipitation (HP). As indicated by their name, the amount of rain and/or hail determines the difference between the two.

LP supercells are most easily identifiable in that their "barbershop pole" appearance on the updraft is readily apparent. And because of low amount of precipitation, tornadoes are rather easy to spot.

HP supercells, on the other hand, are the most dangerous. Often, due to the abundant moisture, and large amounts of rain and hail, tornadoes are often obscured by rain.

see this link for pics and diagrams

Tornados are produced by supercell thunderstorms

A tornado is a violently rotating (usually counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere) column of air descending from a thunderstorm and in contact with the ground. Although tornadoes are usually brief, lasting only a few minutes, they can sometimes last for more than an hour and travel several miles causing considerable damage.

The United States experiences more tornadoes by far than any other country. In a typical year about 1000 tornadoes will strike the United States. The peak of the tornado season is April through June and more tornadoes strike the central United States than any other place in the world. This area has been nicknamed "tornado alley."

Most tornadoes are spawned from supercell thunderstorms. Supercell thunderstorms are characterized by a persistent rotating updraft and form in environments of strong vertical wind shear.

Wind shear is the change in wind speed and/or direction with height.

The updraft lifts the rotating column of air created by the speed shear. This provides two different rotations to the supercell; cyclonic or counter clockwise rotation and an anti-cyclonic of clockwise rotation.

The directional shear amplifies the cyclonic rotation and diminishes the anti-cyclonic rotation (the rotation on the right side of the of the updraft in the illustration at left). All that remains is the cyclonic rotation called a mesocyclone. By definition a supercell is a rotating thunderstorm.

When viewed from the top, the counter-clockwise rotation of the mesocyclone gives the supercell its classic "hook" appearence when seen by radar. As the air rises in the storm, it becomes stretched and more narrow with time.

The exact processes for the formation of a funnel are not known yet. Recent theories suggest that once a mesocyclone is underway, tornado development is related to the temperature differences across the edge of downdraft air wrapping around the mesocyclone.

However, mathematical modelling studies of tornado formation also indicate that it can happen without such temperature patterns; and in fact, very little temperature variation was observed near some of the most destructive tornadoes in history on May 3, 1999 in Oklahoma.

The funnel cloud of a tornado consists of moist air. As the funnel descends the water vapor within it condenses into liquid droplets. The liquid droplets are identical to cloud droplets yet are not considered part of the cloud since they form within the funnel.

The descending funnel is made visible because of the water droplets. The funnel takes on the color of the cloud droplets, which is white.

Due to the air movement, dust and debris on the ground will begin rotating, often becoming several feet high and hundreds of yards wide.

After the funnel touches the ground and becomes a tornado, the color of the funnel will change. The color often depends upon the type of dirt and debris is moves over (red dirt produces a red tornado, black dirt a black tornado, etc.).

Tornadoes can last from several seconds to more than an hour but most last less than 10 minutes. The size and/or shape of a tornado is no measure of its strength.

Occasionally, small tornadoes do major damage and some very large tornadoes, over a quarter-mile wide, have produced only light damage.

The tornado will gradually lose intensity. The condensation funnel decreases in size, the tornado becomes tilted with height, and it takes on a contorted, rope-like appearance before it completely dissipates

for more on tornados see this link

For additional information visit these links to learn more about thunderstorms, tornados and safety

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/jetstream/tstorms/tstr...

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/jetstream/tstorms/torn...

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/tornado/wtfaq.htm

http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/00758/en/disas...

http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/

http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/hazard/

map of peak tornado season

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/cae/svrwx/when.htm

TORNADO SAFETY

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lmk/preparedness/tornado_l...

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd/wcm/safety_rules_lists...

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/brochures/tornado.shtml

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/elp/swww/v5n1/tornadoes2.h...

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/safety.html

http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/00758/en/disas...

http://www.tornadoproject.com/safety/safety.htm

http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/0,1082,0...

http://www.fema.gov/hazard/tornado/index.shtm