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Subject : L10) Why are TC tornadoes especially difficult to deal with?

Contributed by Bill McCaul (USRA)

TC tornadoes are often spawned by unusually small storm cells that may not appear particularly dangerous on weather radars, especially if the cells are located more than about 60 miles from the radar. In addition, these small storms often tend to produce little or no lightning or thunder, and may not look very threatening visually to the average person. Furthermore, the tornadoes are often obscured by rain, and the storm cells spawning them may move rapidly, leaving little time to take evasive action once the threat has been perceived. ( McCaul et al. 1996, Spratt et al. 1997).

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