Buzz
While you’ve likely come across countless videos and photos of tornadoes from afar, have you ever wondered what it’s like inside one? The answer is far more complex than you might imagine.
If you’re curious about the view from within a tornado, the truth is, scientists don’t have a definitive visual of such an event. These violent natural phenomena make it too dangerous for anyone to enter or even get too close. Attempting to position cameras in their path wouldn’t help either—most equipment would be destroyed or swept away. And even if the cameras somehow survived, water and debris would ruin any images or footage.
Nevertheless, meteorologists have managed to catch a rare look inside a tornado from a safe distance. When Dr. Greg Forbes and Mike Bettes went storm-chasing, they captured footage of the tornado tilting sideways, revealing an uncommon top-down perspective. You can watch this incredible moment in a video from The Weather Channel at the top of the page.
The National Severe Storms Laboratory conducts research on tornadoes, hurricanes, and blizzards using mobile Doppler radars mounted on trucks. To scan a tornado, scientists need to get very close, allowing the radar to send out energy pulses toward the storm. The waves reflect back, providing data on the storm’s characteristics, such as wind speed and precipitation levels.
Thanks to these radars, researchers have discovered that tornadoes usually feature a clear center, surrounded by rapidly rotating rain and debris. Anyone caught in the middle of a tornado would likely see a funnel-shaped opening about 50 to 100 feet above them—assuming they haven't lost consciousness due to lack of oxygen.
It’s a common but inaccurate belief that tornadoes have eyes like hurricanes. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, tornadoes typically contain multiple smaller twisters—usually two to five—known as subvortices or suction vortices. While these mini-whirlwinds aren’t as easily seen as tornadoes, they can boost a tornado's wind speeds by over 100 mph.
