TORNADO (tornadoes)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: tornadoes   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does tornado mean? 

• TORNADO (noun)
  The noun TORNADO has 2 senses:

1. a localized and violently destructive windstorm occurring over land characterized by a funnel-shaped cloud extending toward the ground

2. a purified and potent form of cocaine that is smoked rather than snorted; highly addictive

  Familiarity information: TORNADO used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TORNADO (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A localized and violently destructive windstorm occurring over land characterized by a funnel-shaped cloud extending toward the ground

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Synonyms:

tornado; twister

Hypernyms ("tornado" is a kind of...):

cyclone (a violent rotating windstorm)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tornado"):

supertwister (the most powerful tornado which can create enormously devastating damage)

waterspout (a tornado passing over water and picking up a column of water and mist)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A purified and potent form of cocaine that is smoked rather than snorted; highly addictive

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

crack; crack cocaine; tornado

Hypernyms ("tornado" is a kind of...):

cocain; cocaine (a narcotic (alkaloid) extracted from coca leaves; used as a surface anesthetic or taken for pleasure; can become powerfully addictive)

 Context examples 

A disaster can be a natural disaster, like a hurricane, tornado, flood or earthquake.

(Disaster Preparation and Recovery, Federal Emergency Management Agency)

And in her zeal, when she had finished with her own, she attacked the belongings of her men and went through them like a tornado.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

The strongest tornado connection was with strong, persistent La Niñas, consistent with the Super Outbreak of 1974 and the record-shattering tornado outbreaks of 2011, both of which occurred during strong La Niñas.

(Ocean temperatures may hold key to predicting tornado outbreaks, NOAA)

Hurricanes and tropical storms can also spawn tornadoes and lead to flooding.

(Hurricanes, Federal Emergency Management Agency)

GOES-R data will help improve hurricane tracking and intensity forecasts, the prediction and warnings of severe weather, including tornadoes and thunderstorms.

(GOES-R heads to orbit, will improve weather forecasting, NOAA)

She had been out-manoeuvred and out-run, to say nothing of her having been unceremoniously tumbled in the gravel, and her arrival was like that of a tornado—made up of offended dignity, justifiable wrath, and instinctive hatred for this marauder from the Wild.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

These temperature shifts have a ripple effect on large-scale atmospheric processes conducive to tornado outbreaks across the U.S.

(Ocean temperatures may hold key to predicting tornado outbreaks, NOAA)

Researchers investigated the spatial patterns of springtime U.S. regional tornado outbreaks from 1950-2014 and their connection to springtime phases of ENSO.

(Ocean temperatures may hold key to predicting tornado outbreaks, NOAA)

Scientists with NOAA and the University of Miami identified how patterns in the spring phases of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), coupled with variability in North Atlantic sea surface temperatures, could help predict U.S. regional tornado outbreaks.

(Ocean temperatures may hold key to predicting tornado outbreaks, NOAA)

They found that weak El Niños led to tornado outbreaks in May throughout the Upper Midwest, while strong El Niños led to outbreaks in February across Central Florida and the Gulf Coast.

(Ocean temperatures may hold key to predicting tornado outbreaks, NOAA)