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Tornado in a Jar

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Make a tornado in a jar

A tornado is air which is spinning very fast. It is made by a special type of thunderstorm called a supercell.

What you will need:

  • A clear jam jar or similar see-through container with a screw-on lid
  • Washing-up liquid or liquid soap
  • Food colouring

What to do:

  1. Fill up the container with water then add a few drops of the washing-up liquid and a few drops of the food colouring. Tightly screw on the lid.
  2. Swirl the container around in a circle lots of times and then stop. Inside you should see what looks like a tornado. It will slowly disappear as it reaches the top of the container.
    Tornadoes in the real world are made in the same way.

You will needtornado in a jar

Web page reproduced with the kind permission of the Met Office

There is an alternative version here.

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MetLink - Royal Meteorological Society
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