A weather event commonly referred to as a twister is called what?

• A. Hurricane
• B. Tornado
• C. Tsunami
• D. Cyclone

Answer: (B)

A twister refers to a tornado, which is a violently rotating column of air that stretches from a thunderstorm down to the ground. Tornadoes form when warm, moist air rises into a storm and wind shear twists the updraft, concentrating the rotation into a narrow, powerful pillar. They’re typically small in width but highly intense and can produce concentrated damage along a relatively short path.

Hurricanes are large tropical storms with widespread winds and rain, not the tight, ground-touching funnel described by a tornado. Tsunamis are huge ocean waves caused by underwater earthquakes or landslides, not atmospheric phenomena. Cyclones is a broad term for large rotating storm systems; in some regions it’s used interchangeably with hurricane, but it doesn’t describe the specific rotating column that reaches the ground. So the weather event commonly called a twister is a tornado.