The Fluid Dynamics of Tornadoes
Appears in collection : 2026 - T2 - WS1 - Vortices and vorticity in geophysical flows
Observations, laboratory experiments and numerical simulations provide the basis for the theoretical fluid dynamics of the tornado. Tornado fluid dynamics is best understood in terms of the dynamics of several subproblems: the two-cell vortex, the boundary-layer beneath a potential vortex, the formation of an end-wall vortex and its vortex breakdown. Vortex breakdown involves further understanding of super- and sub-critical columnar vortices and their connection to each other through the concept of conjugate states. The bulk of this presentation follows Rotunno (2013 Ann Rev Fluid Mech). Recent progress in tornado theory comes in the form of present-day, high-resolution numerical simulations of tornadic supercell thunderstorms which now have the resolution to include surface friction. Many of the characteristics of the above-described tornado fluid dynamics are being reported in the present generation of tornadic supercell simulations (Rotunno and Bluestein 2024 ! Rep Prog Phys).
