Water spins counter clock wise down and drain North of the equator and clock wise south of the equator, i was wondering if tornados do the same?
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germaster
ANSWERS: 2
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Tornadoes and hurricanes spin counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern. This is because of Coriolis forces, which cause winds moving north-south to be diverted sideways, east-west. Corliois forces arise from the spinning of the earth and affect the movement of large masses of air. The behavior of water going down drains is -- contrary to popular myth -- not affected by corliolis forces. Water swirls according to the design of the basin, or to random factors that impart a rotational direction to the water.
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1) "Why do tornadoes turn in a counter-clockwise direction in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere?" (in their great majority) "The region of swirling air that contracts to become the tornado is not itself large enough in extent to have its rotation dictated by the coriolis force; rather, it "inherits" this tendency from the great masses of air whose movement sets the stage for the storms and any associated tornadoes." Here you can find this quote and further information: http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/newton/askasci/1993/general/GEN016.HTM 2) "Most tornadoes rotate cyclonically, meaning that they spin counter-clockwise north of the equator and clockwise south of the equator. However, although such cases are extremely rare, some tornadoes rotate anti-cyclonically: clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counter-clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere." SOurce: http://www.tarpy.net/2005/EDUCATION/11/06/extra.tornado.myths/index.html
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