A tornado is air spinning very fast between a storm cloud and the ground, and its spin starts out lying on its side.
What does a tornado need?
Warm, wet air near the ground shoots up into colder air above. There it builds a huge thunderstorm.
Where does the spin start?
Up high, the wind blows faster than down low. So the air in between starts rolling sideways, like a rolling pin. The storm lifts the roll and stands it upright, spinning like a top.
How does it get so strong?
Near the ground, the spin gets pulled thinner. Like a skater pulling in their arms, it spins faster and becomes a tornado. But most spinning storms never make a tornado, and scientists are still finding out why.
