Do you believe tornadoes are always multiple vortex?

[Raymond Mason]

Hello there guys! You know I have loved studying and observing tornadoes for a while now. I am starting to believe that all tornadoes are multiple vortex and not just a single big vortex of swirling air. I also believe the smaller weaker tornadoes just have more condense vorticities and aren't as "towering" as seen in the violent larger tornadoes. I have a crude example:

The far left is large/wedge size and the far right is the weaker/smaller tornado size. The blue lines represent the vorticities that swirl around the condensation funnel. I think that when most people see the condensation funnel they are lead to believe its just one big swirling vortex.

I came across this idea when I was watching some tornado videos and just happened to notice this. Whats your guys opinion?

 

[Jeff Duda]

Probably depends on how you want to define "suction vortex". L.F. Richardson said it best: "Big whirls have little whirls that feed on their velocity; and little whirls have lesser whirls and on down to viscosity."

So yeah, there are probably technically vortices of many sizes from the size of the overall tornado cyclone down to molecular scale turbulent eddies. I think the swirl ratio parameter is used to determine how likely, how frequent, or how big any suction vortices may be. Typically single cell tornadoes have very low swirl ratios and tend to be almost entirely inflow + updraft, typically having no suction vortices. I have no idea if a single cell tornado CAN have suction vortices or not, though. I can't think of any really good examples showing such a case, though.

 

[Raymond Mason]

First off Jeff thanks for your reply. Also I don't get why they are referred to as "suction" vortices. Tornadoes don't suck they blow haha.

Well, I think the smaller tornadoes do have sub vortices just on a smaller and not nearly as noticeable scale. Although this is all theory and no proof to back it up. Maybe when I go chasing I should study this.

 

[Skip Talbot]

If there are pure, single vortex tornadoes, they're a tiny minority, or even exceedingly rare. Every tornado I've witnessed, close enough to observe its internal structure, had subvortices. Even the small, weak tornadoes I've witnessed, some just feet across had smaller vortices inside of them. Gustnadoes and dust devils also exhibit small subvortices. Single vortex tornadoes, if they exist at all, are probably quite small and brief, such that they'd be subvortices in a larger tornado if it were present.

 

[James Gustina]

This is kind of similar to the whole "is there such a thing as a unicell thunderstorm" deal, with a storm having a solitary updraft being very unlikely. Given that air is fluid in it's motion, I'd bet smaller eddies are probably always forming/breaking off within the larger vortex due to horizontal pressure protuberances, friction, and other forces. That's a complete guess and I think Jeff explained it more succinctly.