What You Need to Know about Nighttime Tornadoes
Nighttime tornadoes can catch people by surprise and more deadly. Learn more about them here…
Nighttime tornadoes can cause a real scare when they happen. They are often much more deadly than daytime ones because many people are asleep with no way to get warning. Their strength isn’t affected much when they happen. They still need excess energy to produce any tornadoes at night anyway so that goes to the tornadoes. Learn more about nighttime tornadoes in this post…
This post is all about nighttime tornadoes.
Invisible Nighttime Tornadoes
Why do Tornadoes Happen at Night?
The first section of this post will be about why tornadoes can happen at night. Tornadoes happen when the trigger arrives in the tornado-prime environment later in the day. This trigger is a cold front or other boundary. This timing triggers the severe weather at night. This type of tornado scenario is seen often in the eastern regions of the U.S.
Another reason for later tornado outbreaks is there is something stopping it during the day. Here are some of the many reasons for this phenomenon…
- Capping inversion (temperature inversion in the atmosphere preventing the rising of warm air)
- Cloud cover till later in the day, delaying surface heating.
- Severe weather all day long but strong-tornadic trigger like low-level shear or a gust front arriving later.
Why Are Nighttime Tornadoes More Dangerous
One reason why tornadoes at night are so dangerous is because you can’t see them. People will be surprised when they hear it if they have no warning. They can’t see it coming. Another reason is because people are sleeping. If it is deep in the night you won’t notice as you would if you were awake. Some people believe that this severe weather phenomenon doesn’t happen at night. They do not take it seriously for that reason. You should take them seriously because they are just as strong as daytime tornadoes.
Signs of a Tornado at Night
There are several signs to look for to know a tornado is approaching at night. Often sight isn’t one of them because the vortex is invisible. Here is a list of signs…
- Sight when lightning strikes occur
- Loud roaring noise that sound like a train or jet
- Set up a weather radio that goes off in the night when a warning is issued
- High winds (not only tornadic)
- Hail or other extreme precipitation (not only tornadic)
Where do Nighttime Tornadoes Occur
The last section of this post will be about where nighttime tornadoes occur. Nighttime tornadoes happen in practically every state, but Dixie Alley tends to have the post. Dixie Alley is a second tornado alley in the Deep South. It experiences a lot of tornado outbreaks. There are also other weather disasters like hurricanes. (specifically nighttime ones). Learn more about it here. All of the Deep South and a few of the other states have a nighttime tornado percentage of >30%. The states with the most nighttime tornadoes are Kentucky, Arkansas, & Tennessee.
