How Big Is the Eye of a Tornado?

Hurricanes, cyclones, typhoons and tornadoes are all storms that rotate around a central point referred to as the"eye" of the storm. The farthest points away from the eye of a hurricane are the outer bands. This area can give rise to tornadoes.

Hurricane Eye Formation

• According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) the eye of a hurricane is generally between 20 and 40 miles across. As a hurricane forms, it rotates in a counterclockwise direction. The center sinks downward and pushes outward, creating the eye, which is a central calm area.

The Eye of a Tornado

• The eye of a tornado is the area inside the funnel. Meteorologist Wendell Bechtold says that the eye of a tornado differs from the eye of a hurricane in two ways. The first is in size- most tornadoes have a relatively small eye that is only a few feet or yards in diameter. The second way they differ is that unlike the relative calm of the eye of a hurricane, the eye of a tornado is "very chaotic and not well-defined."

Tornado Types

• NOAA describes three categories of tornadoes. Weak tornadoes make up about 69 percent of all tornadoes; these last up to about 10 minutes and have wind speeds of less than 110 mph. Another 29 percent of tornadoes last 20 minutes or more and have winds between 110 and 205 mph. Violent tornadoes make up only 2 percent of all tornadoes but can be huge, last over an hour, and cause catastrophic damage.