What’s the Real Difference Between Hurricanes and Tornados

When it comes to some of the most severe weather in the world, it doesn’t really get more extreme than hurricanes and tornadoes. As anyone who’s ever been lucky enough to survive one will tell you, both of these meteorological phenomena are positively terrifying, and pose a massive danger to human safety, as well as threatening to cause huge levels of damage to towns and cities. They can vary significantly in their size, scale, and how much destruction they leave in their wake, as well as how and where they form and how long they go on for. But between a hurricane and a tornado, which of them is worse? There’s only one way to find out, and hopefully, for your sake, it isn’t through experiencing both to compare.

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[FSAPOJake]

Hurricanes cause much, much more widespread damage, but you get warning often weeks in advance. Tornadoes come out of absolutely nowhere and leave you with no time to evacuate. They're both scary, but tornadoes have always scared me more than any other weather phenomenon.

[ScottieDeux]

As someone who was born in western Pennsylvania in 1976 and witnessed the May 31, 1985 tornado outbreak, then moved to Florida and witnessed Hurricane Andrew in 1992 (Category 5), as well as a F3-4 tornado that struck Pinellas County in October of that same year, I can say with confidence that I’d much rather have to deal with a large category hurricane than a similar tornado. Having the ability to prepare is the ABSOLUTE key to survival and if we’re comparing hurricanes vs. tornadoes, I’ll take my chances with the former for sure!!

[wyattroberts]

I'm from the Joplin area... Very scary day that will never be forgotten😢😢

[Illigrown]

I’ve lived through both. Tornados are worse by far. You have weeks notice for hurricanes. By the time you know the tornado is coming it’s already on the ground running.

[tonyparra]

Hurricane: I like showing up days later.
Tornado: I like showing up minutes later.
Earthquake: That's nothing, I like showing up right away.

[deadspeedv]

Economically: Hurricane
Physically for a single person: Tornado

[marksmoothe]

I live in Tornado Alley, it's very common to see houses being bought and sold with heavy duty storm shelters already built into the ground. You have to be ready (mainly during the spring, sometimes in the summer and fall) for wind speeds in excess of 300 miles an hour.

[awesomeblader]

It should be noted that a tornado is not necessarily just the condensation funnel, the El Reno tornado is excellent example of a massive tornado that went beyond it’s condensation funnel, which is also why some tornadoes are reported to be a certain width but the pictures make it look smaller.

[Orca]

It should be noted that tornadoes can actually be spawned from landfalling hurricanes. Granted they're not typically as powerful or long lived as those generated by supercell thunderstorms such as those in the midwestern US, but they can still pose a danger to life and property.

[noctawny]

One of my uncles and aunts lived through the Joplin tornado of May 22, 2011. My uncle was trying to get his wife and kids to the shelter and went to shut the front door when the strong winds blew it open and he broke his elbow as a result. My dad has a whole photo album of the damage that the tornado had caused. I have always wanted to see a tornado, but this video reminded me about just how dangerous they are. As a Missourian, it does not make me proud to know that two of the deadliest tornadoes in US history took place in Missouri.

[n.r.]

I remember the F5 that hit my families farm in Oklahoma in 1969. It was rough. It was like the thing dodged my neighbor’s house and came right for ours. Jo took it really hard, she never forgot the destruction that it caused and that later fueled her in her career as a scientist who studies tornadoes. She has a great team of folks that help her out.

[momcatskyle]

I'm from New Orleans and I lived through Hurricanes Betsy in 1965, Camille in 1969, and Katrina in 2005. During Betsy, lightning struck the power line to our house which run right over my bedroom and struck a fan that was set in the doorway of my bedroom - and I just happened to be sitting in bed just a few feet away and looking at the fan when the lightning hit it. No one believed me until the next day when my dad opened the fan up to see why it wouldn't work and the motor was melted. To date that is still the coolest thing I have ever witnessed - and believe me, I have seen a lot of weird stuff in my life.

[Takerfan]

My hometown was hit with devastating tornadoes back in 2011. In fact, we actually had one touch down fairly close to where I live. It brought high winds, rain, and hail that lasted for several hours. Fortunately, my home is extremely well-fortified and the basement can double as a storm shelter in a pinch.

[lordofrubies]

been afraid of tornadoes since i was a kid. But they’re so darn fascinating that i can’t stop learning about them.😂

[matcha_zuki]

I been through multiple cyclones but tornados terrify me. I had a huge panic attack on the plane to America and the plane was stuck on the ground for over 30 minutes because of me 😭 They are just so much more scary with how unpredictable and how much damage they cause.

[dangermax]

I don’t care which is worse as long as I’m not in one😭

[BurakkuHishou]

As an anecdote of people who live through tornado strikes:

They say it's like a freight train is running right over top of you. The sound is absolutely deafening, the sheer force of the wind around you, everything breaking and being torn apart around you. There's a reason school drills for tornado strikes teach kids to go below ground into a bunker and even while they are down there get down into the fetal position and place your hands around the back of your neck and head. It's if debris rains down on you, your fingers take the initial/brunt of the impact instead of your neck and head. If a tornado is powerful enough, it doesn't care whether your house is made out of wood or stone.

[DarthZelda]

I'm in my last year studying meteorology, tornadoes can spin in both directions in any country. In the US a typical tornado spin counter-clockwise, however anti-cyclonic tornadoes do spin clockwise. Anti-cyclonic tornadoes are rare and are typically very dangerous. They also don't spawn ground up. Most times a tornado will meet extremely close to the ground, within 400 meters in a good range. I got hit by an EF2 this past august and my husband was begging me to come inside, I couldn't stop watching what I've been studying in action.

[NSEasternShoreChemist]

I have not experienced a tornado (yet), though I have experienced several hurricanes.
The most recent one was Fiona in 2022. I wasn't near the eye of it, though it blew down a lot of trees on my land (at least 200!) that took several weeks to clean up. The power was out for about 3 days. The gusts were likely around 135-140 km/h.
The most destructive hurricane I've ever experienced was Juan in 2003. It totally devastated the capital of Nova Scotia (Halifax), and caused heavy tree damage out my way, with some parts of the forest looking like they'd been bombed (you could say "wind bombed"). It took nearly two weeks for the power to be restored.
Honourable mention: passing through the calm of the eye of Hurricane Dorian in 2019. Damage was not too severe though.

[marcon]

@The Infographics Show a small Tornado in The Netherlands is called a Windhoos