Where in a tornado is the wind fastest? Not the center — the Rankine vortex model shows the peak winds ringing a deceptively calm core.
Tornado Vortex (Rankine)Live
wind speed vs radius
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A tornado's winds follow the Rankine vortex model: inside the core the air spins like a solid disk, with speed rising straight out to a peak at the core edge; outside, the wind falls off as 1/r. The fastest, most destructive winds ring the core, not the very center — which is why the eye of a vortex is deceptively calm.
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How it works
The Rankine vortex idealizes a tornado's wind field: inside the core the air rotates like a solid disk, with speed rising linearly to a maximum at the core edge; outside, the wind decays as 1/r. The strongest, most destructive winds encircle the core, while the very center is relatively calm. This profile underlies tornado and hurricane wind estimates and the EF damage scale.
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The math, the assumptions, real-world uses, or a code translation — explained for this exact simulation.
Is this Rankine vortex tornado wind tool really free?▾
Yes. Tornado Vortex (Rankine) runs entirely in your browser using your device's own compute, so local use is free forever. You only pay Compute Tokens if you scale a job to the cloud.
Do I need to install anything?▾
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How accurate are the results?▾
The solver uses established numerical methods, but results are for research and educational purposes and should be validated against experiment or professional review before you rely on them.