00:00Often when a tornado is first touching down, there are two visual indicators.
00:04First, there's the condensation funnel.
00:07That's the visible rapidly rotating cloud extending down from the storm.
00:11Then there's the debris swirl.
00:13That's where the tornado is actually interacting with the ground.
00:16Sometimes these two features are connected into one dramatic column, but other times
00:20they can be separated by hundreds of feet, leaving a gap that makes the tornado look
00:25weaker or smaller than it may really be.
00:27And watch the color of that debris cloud.
00:30A tornado crossing a freshly plowed field may turn dark brown.
00:33Move into red clay terrain and the debris can take on a reddish tint.
00:37Watch as this tornado moves over a field of solar panels.
00:41There isn't much debris being lofted, so the bottom becomes almost invisible, but it's
00:45still there.
00:45And the bottom changes character when it moves back over an open part of the field.
00:50If the condensation funnel doesn't extend to the ground, the visual tracer at ground level
00:55is the debris being lifted.
00:57The tornado may be maintaining its intensity, but the terrain can completely change its appearance.
01:02Let's go.
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