• Question: can you have an underwater tornado?

    Asked by stig to Hywel, Joseph, Poonam on 24 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Dr Hywel Jones

      Dr Hywel Jones answered on 24 Jun 2010:

      Well if you’ve ever watched the bath empty and seen a whirlpool form over the plug hole then you have indeed seen an underwater tornado. However, we don’t normally see the same complex flow systems in the ocean as we do in the atmosphere and since it is these storms and complex flows that cause tornadoes its much less common to see whirlpools form simultaneously. You can often see them though where there are strong tides or currents.

    • Photo: Joseph Cook

      Joseph Cook answered on 24 Jun 2010:

      Well a tornado is where the air spins rapidly, forming a vortex. I don’t really know about tornadoes above or below water, but I would guess that similar instabilities in water as those causing a tornado in air could result in a similar vortex effect.

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