How Do Tornadoes Form?
4. Downdraft
When warm air reaches colder air, the warm air will itself cool down. Surrounded by warmer air, this cool air will begin to descend, causing a downdraft. When it is in the spinning mesocyclone, this downdraft will itself begin to spin.
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The downdraft and the updraft from the rising air will be working against each other, and the updraft is usually strong enough to prevent the downdraft from descending all the way to the ground. The exact conditions required for the downdraft to reach the Earth are unclear, making it difficult to anticipate exactly when and where a tornado will form.
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