tornado
n. countablen. a very strong and dangerous wind that spins in a circle. It looks like a tall, dark cloud shaped like a funnel that touches the ground.
n. a localized and violently destructive windstorm occurring over land, characterized by a funnel-shaped cloud extending toward the ground from a thundercloud.
The tornado destroyed several houses in the small town.
When the sirens sounded, the family quickly moved to the basement to stay safe from the approaching tornado.
Meteorologists tracked the tornado as it tore across the plains, noting that its internal wind speeds were high enough to lift heavy vehicles and strip the bark from trees.
From earlier English ternado, attested since the 1550s as a nautical term for a windy thunderstorm. From Spanish tronada (“thunderstorm”), from tronar (“to thunder”), from Latin tonō (“to thunder”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tenh₂- (“to thunder”). The o and r were reversed in English (metathesis) under influence of Spanish tornar (“to twist, to turn”), from Latin tornō (“to turn”).
Often used with the verbs 'hit', 'strike', or 'touch down'.