Tornadoes are forecast… did you know they are so common?
The National Meteorological Service (SMN) warned that conditions for the formation of whirlwinds or tornadoes would continue in areas of Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. In this regard, the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) clarifies that these phenomena are more frequent than one might think.
Tornado alert in Mexico!
Mexican meteorological authorities predicted for this Friday, May 31, conditions for the formation of whirlwinds or tornadoes in the states of:
Nuevo León
Coahuila
Tamaulipas
Through social media, Conagua indicated that this type of meteorological phenomena could occur in these regions during the next few hours. Therefore, it urged the population to take the forecasts into account.
A tornado is a funnel-shaped swirl of air that is generated from a mammatus cloud, which in turn hangs from a cumulonimbus, and extends until it touches the ground, according to the National Water Commission (Conagua).
“It spins so violently that its strong winds can uproot trees and light poles, destroy homes and even overturn heavy vehicles and move large objects.”
They have winds of between 65 and 180 kilometers per hour (km/h), in more extreme cases they reach 400 km/h and travel several kilometers (km) before dissipating, Mexican experts say.
They are more common phenomena than you think, according to UNAM
It is estimated that 50 tornadoes occur in Mexico each year from March to October, although their period of greatest incidence is from May to August, these phenomena being more common than you think, according to UNAM.
Experts from Mexico’s top university say their frequency is underestimated because they are known by other names throughout the country, including:
Snakes
Trombas
Serpents
Dragons
León Cruz, a specialist in extreme weather and climate phenomena, explained that they have always occurred, in fact there are records of this from the time of the Conquest.
Tornadoes are not as Hollywood paints them
Another reason why it is believed that tornadoes are not common in Mexico is because popular culture, particularly Hollywood movies, present an erroneous view of them, making it impossible to identify them.
UNAM experts say that there are two types of tornadoes, denying that they are only those that present violent vortices. These are:
Supercells: large, with enormous spinning vortices, strong winds that can destroy cities
Non-supercells: thinner, with shorter duration and wind intensity
Non-supercells are just as dangerous, since they occur in normally rural areas, where construction conditions are not the best, according to León Cruz.
On the other hand, in central Mexico, in states such as Tlaxcala, Puebla and the State of Mexico, only non-supercell types have occurred.
Source: unotv
