Tornado Nebraskans are no strangers to tornadoes. They are part of spring and summer life in the Central Plains. We all know the damage tornadoes can create firsthand, as some remember being around the 1980 tornadoes that devastated Grand Island, or know someone who experienced a tornado firsthand. Even though I've lived in Nebraska all my life, I still don't understand exactly how a tornado forms or what ingredients are needed to create one. In this article we will look at exactly how a tornado forms. We'll look at the conditions necessary for tornadoes to form, how tornadoes form from supercells, and finally what observers look for when chasing tornadoes. Conditions must be perfect for a thunderstorm to form, which in turn could produce a tornado. The most important thing that must happen for a thunderstorm to form is that the atmosphere must be conditionally unstable. “A conditionally unstable atmosphere is one in which warm, moist surface air is overpowered by cooler, drier air above” (Ahrens). Warm, moist air rises from the Gulf of Mexico to warm the ground while cool, dry air descends from Canada. This meeting of the two air masses in the middle of the country is why the Central Plains are known as tornado alley, where most tornadoes occur. Tornado alley includes central Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. “Other factors include the Rocky Mountains to the west, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and terrain that slopes from west to east” (Tornado Information). You can visually understand that the atmosphere is conditionally unstable and that a storm is coming by looking at the clouds. A cumulon...... middle of paper......ttp://www.wunderground.com/resources/education/tornadoFAQ.asp>.Ahrens, C. Donald. "Tornado." Meteorology Today: An Introduction to Weather, Climate, Climate and the Environment. 10th ed. SL: Brooks/Cole, 2013. 405-20. Print.Dewey, Ken. “CLIMAOLOGY OF THE NEBRASKA TORNADO.” CLIMATOLOGY OF THE NEBRASKA TORNADO. University of Nebraska, School of Natural Resources, 2009. Web. 25 February 2014. “NOAA National Severe Storm Laboratory.” NSSL: Severe Weather 101: Tornado. National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, n.d. Web. 10 February 2014.. Wicker, Crystal. “Weather Wiz Kids Weather Information for Kids.” Weather Wiz Kids Weather information for kids. Crystal Wicker and Web. 09 February. 2014..