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Here’s What the Inside of a Tornado Looks Like

While meteorologists have trouble figuring out what happens inside tornadoes, we know the chaos includes small, destructive whirlwinds.

CaLea Johnson|
RARE View of the Inside of a Tornado!
RARE View of the Inside of a Tornado! | The Weather Channel

You’ve probably seen plenty of videos and photos of tornadoes from a distance, but how do they look from the inside? The answer is a bit more complicated than you may think.

If you’re wondering how a tornado looks from the perspective of someone standing inside it, scientists don’t have a definite visual of that scenario. The natural disasters are known to be extremely violent, so sending people in or too close to them isn’t wise. Placing cameras in a tornado’s path wouldn’t do any good, either—the equipment would likely be damaged or completely swept away. Even if by some miracle the cameras weren’t destroyed, water and dirt would ruin any pictures and videos. 

However, meteorologists have gotten a glimpse of a tornado’s interior from a safe distance. When Dr. Greg Forbes and Mike Bettes were out chasing a tornado, they managed to capture it tilting to the side, showing off a rare top-down view. You can see it in action in the video from The Weather Channel at the top of the page. 

The National Severe Storms Laboratory studies tornadoes, hurricanes, and blizzards using mobile Doppler radars mounted on trucks. Scientists must drive within close range of a tornado in order for the radar to scan it. When close enough, the radar equipment projects energy pulses at storms, and the waves bounce back to it. Researchers can then determine some of the natural disaster’s features, like wind speed and level of precipitation.  

Thanks to these radars, scientists know that tornadoes typically have a clear center that’s surrounded by rapidly swirling rain and debris. Someone trapped in the center of a tornado will likely see a funnel-shaped opening of about 50 to 100 feet when they look up—if they haven’t already passed out from lack of oxygen, that is.

It’s also a common misconception that tornadoes have eyes like hurricanes. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, tornadoes generally contain multiple—usually two to five—mini-twisters called subvortices or suction vortices. Although these small whirlwinds aren’t nearly as noticeable as tornadoes, they can add over 100 mph to a tornado’s circular gusts. 

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