Do dust devils and tornadoes spin counter clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere?
The majority of tornadoes rotate counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and the opposite way south of the equator. But, tornado researchers have seen and filmed clockwise tornadoes in the USA. Tornadoes are usually spun out by thunderstorms that are part of larger storm systems. This means the larger system will have a general counterclockwise spin in the Northern Hemisphere, and this seems to translate to the smaller vortex, the tornado. But, scientists still have questions about exactly what (there’s probably more than one factor involved) puts the spin in tornadoes. Our Resources: Understanding tornadoes page has links to a lot more information on tornado science. Dust devils are not attached to a cloud as a tornado always is, and they tend to be much smaller than tornadoes. Not as many people study them as do tornadoes it’s even harder to find one when you want to deploy instruments and cameras than it is for tornadoes. But, the available observations show they seem to be as l
Related Questions
- Occasionally, a tornado will spin in an opposite direction to most tornadoes (which usually rotate counter clockwise in the northern hemisphere). Why does this happen?
- Do dust devils and tornadoes spin counter clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere?
- What Causes Dust Devils, How Are Dust Devils Formed, and Do Big Cities Ever Get Hit By Tornadoes?
