What is the difference between a funnel and a tornado?
Both are violently whirling columns of air spawned by thunderstorms, but in most usages of the word, the funnel refers to a vortex which is still aloft whereas a tornado has descended to the surface. If the condensation funnel has dropped more than half way from the cloud base to the surface, a funnel is generally called a tornado because by this time damaging winds are likely to be occurring on the ground. Sometimes the term funnel refers to the visible portion of the vortex whether the or not the circulation has reached the surface. The funnel can be made visible by either condensation (the funnel cloud) or debris or both. GO TO TOP What causes tornadoes? Conservation of angular momentum. Everyone has seen ice skaters who are spinning while extending their arms and as soon as they tuck their arms in close to the body, the rate of spin increases dramatically. Somewhat the same thing happens in the atmosphere. An air mass always has a certain amount of spin (technically called vorticit
