T

Tail Cloud - A horizontal, tail-shaped cloud (not a funnel cloud) at low levels extending from the precipitation cascade region of a supercell toward the wall cloud (i.e., it usually is observed extending from the wall cloud toward the north or northeast). The base of the tail cloud is about the same as that of the wall cloud. Cloud motion in the tail cloud is away from the precipitation and toward the wall cloud, with rapid upward motion often observed near the junction of the tail and wall clouds.
Compare with beaver tail, which is a form of inflow band that normally attaches to the storm's main updraft (not to the wall cloud) and has a base at about the same level as the updraft base (not the wall cloud).

Temperature - How hot or cold an object is as determined by a thermometer. Physically, it is the average kinetic energy of the atoms that make up that substance.

Thermodynamic Chart (or Thermodynamic Diagram) - A chart containing contours of pressure, temperature, moisture, and potential temperature, all drawn relative to each other such that basic thermodynamic laws are satisfied. Such a chart typically is used to plot atmospheric soundings, and to estimate potential changes in temperature, moisture, etc. if air were displaced vertically from a given level. A thermodynamic chart thus is a useful tool in diagnosing atmospheric instability.

Thermodynamics - In general, the relationships between heat and other properties (such as temperature, pressure, density, etc.) In forecast discussions, thermodynamics usually refers to the distribution of temperature and moisture (both vertical and horizontal) as related to the diagnosis of atmospheric instability.

Theta-e (or Equivalent Potential Temperature) - The temperature a parcel of air would have if a) it was lifted until it became saturated, b) all water vapor was condensed out, and c) it was returned adiabatically (i.e., without transfer of heat or mass) to a pressure of 1000 millibars. Theta-e, which typically is expressed in degrees Kelvin, is directly related to the amount of heat present in an air parcel. Thus, it is useful in diagnosing atmospheric instability.

Theta-e Ridge - An axis of relatively high values of theta-e. Severe weather and excessive rainfall often occur near or just upstream from a theta-e ridge.

Thunderstorm - Studies show that most tornadoes develop toward the back (usually southwest) portion of a thunderstorm. As a thunderstorm moves in, you may see a swirl of clouds that rotate parallel to the ground. This is not a tornado, but a roll cloud that is created by gusty, rain cooled air blowing out ahead of the thunderstorm.

Tilt Sequence - Radar term indicating that the radar antenna is scanning through a series of antenna elevations in order to obtain a volume scan.

Tilted Storm or Tilted Updraft - A thunderstorm or cloud tower which is not purely vertical but instead exhibits a slanted or tilted character. It is a sign of vertical wind shear, a favorable condition for severe storm development.

Tornado - A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from the base of a thunderstorm. A condensation funnel does not need to reach to the ground for a tornado to be present; a debris cloud beneath a thunderstorm is all that is needed to confirm the presence of a tornado, even in the total absence of a condensation funnel. Most tornadoes in the United States occur in the central plains, with the greatest likelihood of twisters in the southern plains around Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma. Colorado lies of the western fringe of "Tornado Alley", but our state still averages between 30 and 50 tornadoes per year. The peak season for tornadoes is in the spring and early summer. From March through June, about 70% of all the tornadoes in a year will occur. This is due to the fact that the weather patterns that are needed for tornado development are most common in the spring and early summer.

Most tornadoes form from large rotating thunderstorms called "supercells". These monster storms tend to develop ahead of cold fronts that push southward from Canada across the central U.S. As the fronts sag into the warm and humid air that covers the southern plains, the colder air wedges under the warm air, creating lift. The lifted air rises up to form thunderstorms that can rapidly grow to heights of 40 to 50 thousand feet above the ground.

The storm pushes high into the sky, reaching into the jet stream - the band or river of fast moving air that flows around the world. It is the increase in windspeed with height that causes the thunderstorm to begin a large, slow counterclockwise rotation. This rotating thunderstorm is what is classified as a "Supercell".

Once the supercell storm develops, the best analogy for thinking about how the tornado forms is to think of a fugure skater doing a spin. The skater starts with their arms out, and is rotating rather slowly. As the skater brings their arms in, the rotation begins to speed up. In physics, this is called "the conservation of angular momentum". The rotation gets faster and faster as the size of the rotating column grows more narrow. This is a very simplistic description, but eventually this narrow rapidly rotating column of air will drop to the ground as a tornado.

Tornadoes are classified by the wind damage that they cause. The tornado scale was developed by Dr. Ted Fujita from the University of Chicago. Dr. Fujita based his "F scale" on a 0 to 5 basis for tornadoes. The F0 is a weak tornado, while the F5 storms are the most powerful winds ever observed on Earth.

F0 - up to 72 mph - light damage
F1 - 73 to 112 mph - moderate damage
F2 - 113 to 157 mph - considerable damage
F3 - 158 to 206 mph - severe damage
F4 - 207 to 260 mph - devastating damage
F5 - above 261 mph - incredible damage

About 70 % of the annual average of 1000 tornadoes nationwide are classified as F0 or F1.

About 28 % of all tornadoes fall into the F2 or F3 category.

Only about 2% of all tornadoes are classified as F4 or F5.

Often a severe weather season will come and go without a single F5 tornado reported.

However, about 80% of all tornadoes deaths are the result of the F3, F4 and F5 tornadoes. These storms are much less common, but much more dangerous.

Tornadoes are not named like hurricanes are, but the strong or deadly tornadoes are usually remembered for the town or location that they affected. For instance, the infamous "Xenia Ohio Tornado" of April 1974, or in Colorado, the "Limon Tornado" in June of 1990.

Perhaps the single worst tornado on record was the great "Tri-State Tornado" of March 1925. This huge tornado started in southeastern Missouri and tore a path of destruction all across Illinois, before ending in western Indiana. The twister covered a distance of 219 miles and was on the ground for over 3 hours. In the days before adequate warnings, the storm caught everyone off guard. The Tri-State Tornado killed 689 people, injured over 2,000 and caused 17 million dollars in damage - a very large figure in 1925!

In Colorado, the peak season for tornadoes is in early June. At that time, the almost daily dose of thunderstorms can easily rise up to the jet stream level and begin to rotate into a supercell. These storms tend to form along the Front Range, roll over the Denver metro area and then really get severe over the eastern plains of the state. About 90% of all Colorado tornadoes occur east of I-25. Although tornadoes can form in the high country, the rough terrain tends to disrupt the rotation needed to form a supercell.

In my 25 years in meteorology, I have been through many tornado watch and warning situations. I have walked through a small town in southern Wisconsin, named Barneveld, just hours after it was ripped apart by an F5 tornado. Only one time have I seen a tornado, as most of the time I am right here in the 9News Weather Center issuing warnings and weather updates, so I do not get much of a chance to chase these storms.

Tornadoes have done some very unusual things. The powerful winds can pick up a railroad locomotive, lift a water tower off the ground, drive blades of grass into walls, just like a hammer and a nail. At the same time, there have been reports where tornadoes have picked a refridgerator off the ground, tossed it several hundreds of yards, dropped it back on the ground and not even broken an egg inside the refridgerator!

Tornadoes usually form on the back edge of the thunderstorm cloud, menaing that most of the storm has already passed overhead. Often the rain, hail, thunder and lightning have mostly gone by and then the tornado occurs. That is why you will often see the sky looking very bright behind the tornado - a dramatic contrast to the very dark funnel. After the tornado, the sky often quickly clears as the storm moves away. There are, however, no hard and fast rules for tornados, so sometimes the twister occurs in the midst of a large area of thunderstorms, so after the tornado occurs, it just rains and rains.

Tornado Warning - Issued by the National Weather Service when a tornado has been sighted either by an observer or Doppler radar.

Tornado Watch - Issued by the National Sever Storm Laboratory in Kansas City when conditions are present in the atmosphere which may lead to the formation of tornadic thunderstorms.

Total-Totals Index - A stability index and severe weather forecast tool, equal to the temperature at 850 mb plus the dew point at 850 mb, minus twice the temperature at 500 mb. The total-totals index is the arithmetic sum of two other indices: the Vertical Totals Index (temperature at 850 mb minus temperature at 500 mb) and the Cross Totals Index (dew point at 850 mb minus temperature at 500 mb). As with all stability indices there are no magic threshold values, but in general, values of less than 50 or greater than 55 are considered weak and strong indicators, respectively, of potential severe storm development.

Tower - (Short for towering cumulus), a cloud element showing appreciable upward vertical development.

Towering Cumulus - (Same as congestus.) A large cumulus cloud with great vertical development, usually with a cauliflower-like appearance, but lacking the characteristic anvil of a Cb (Often shortened to "towering cu," and abbreviated TCU.)

Transpiration - The process where plants transfer water to the atmosphere in the form of water vapor.

Transverse Bands - Bands of clouds oriented perpendicular to the flow in which they are embedded. They often are seen best on satellite photographs. When observed at high levels (i.e., in cirrus formations), they may indicate severe or extreme turbulence. Transverse bands observed at low levels (called transverse rolls or T rolls) often indicate the presence of a temperature inversion (or cap) as well as directional shear in the low- to mid-level winds. These conditions often favor the development of strong to severe thunderstorms. .

Transverse Rolls - Elongated low-level clouds, arranged in parallel bands and aligned parallel to the low-level winds but perpendicular to the mid-level flow. Transverse rolls are one type of transverse band, and often indicate an environment favorable for the subsequent development of supercells. Since they are aligned parallel to the low-level inflow, they may point toward the region most likely for later storm development.

Triple Point - The intersection point between two boundaries (dry line, outflow boundary, cold front, etc.), often a focus for thunderstorm development.
Triple point also may refer to a point on the gust front of a supercell, where the warm moist inflow, the rain-cooled outflow from the forward flank downdraft, and rear flank all intersect; this point is a favored location for tornado development (or redevelopment).

Tropopause - The upper boundary of the troposphere, usually characterized by an abrupt change in lapse rate from positive (decreasing temperature with height) to neutral or negative (temperature constant or increasing with height).

Troposphere - The layer of the atmosphere where nearly all of our weather occurs which extends from the earth's surface to an altitude of approximately 30,000 feet. The layer of the atmosphere from the earth's surface up to the tropopause, characterized by decreasing temperature with height (except, perhaps, in thin layers - see inversion, cap), vertical wind motion, appreciable water vapor content, and sensible weather (clouds, rain, etc.).

Trough - An elongated area of relatively low atmospheric pressure, usually not associated with a closed circulation, and thus used to distinguish from a closed low. The opposite of ridge.

TVS - Tornadic Vortex Signature. Doppler radar signature in the radial velocity field indicating intense, concentrated rotation - more so than a mesocyclone. Like the mesocyclone, specific criteria involving strength, vertical depth, and time continuity must be met in order for a signature to become a TVS. Existence of a TVS strongly increases the probability of tornado occurrence, but does not guarantee it. A TVS is not a visually observable feature. 9NEWS Meteorolgists can show TVS's on HD Doppler9.