Can a tornado form in a cloudless sky?

Question

Can a tornado form in a cloudless sky?

Question #98903. Asked by crazycube.
Last updated Mar 08 2017.

Terry

Answer has 6 votes

Currently Best Answer

Terry

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25 year member
333 replies avatar

Answer has 6 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.

No.

The answer seems to be "it is not called a tornado anymore without clouds"

Tornado:

A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that rotates while in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado

So as soon as you have no cloud, you have no tornado. A lot of definitions seem to agree with this.

I would suggest that the question here best represents a dust devil:

A dust devil is a strong, well-formed, and relatively long-lived whirlwind, ranging from small (half a meter wide and a few meters tall) to large (more than 10 meters wide and more than 1000 meters tall). The primary vertical motion is upward.

Here is an interesting tornado-like entity in a cloudless sky:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4QXEfSNC8I

Sep 07 2016, 8:44 PM

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Answer 1

zbeckabee

Answer has 4 votes

zbeckabee

Moderator
19 year member
11752 replies avatar

Answer has 4 votes.

There are three basic ingredients necessary for development of a tornado.

Moist, unstable air at the surface.
Cold air aloft.
Change in wind direction and/or speed with height (Vertical wind shear)

Response last updated by Terry on Sep 07 2016.
Aug 26 2008, 8:41 AM

Answer 2

star_gazer

Answer has 2 votes

star_gazer

23 year member
5236 replies avatar

Answer has 2 votes.

Common sense seems to say "No" to your question.

https://www.ready.gov/tornadoes

Response last updated by CmdrK on Mar 08 2017.
Aug 26 2008, 5:56 PM