AboutJason Expertise I know everything about weather. I am a 6-year trained Storm Chaser for Wired-WX Storm Chasing Services. Background in thermodynamics, global warming and cooling dynamics, advanced cellular thunderstorm dynamics, and diagram dynamics expert.
Experience Lead Storm Chaser: Organizations: Wired-WX and Member of National Weather Service/Skywarn Network
Question What time of day do torndadoes usually occur.
Answer Tornadoes occur at ANY time of the day. Most often tornadoes occur in the afternoon and the early evening due to heat and convection buildup.
Remember: A tornado is a violent, yet rotating column of air that is in convective contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or possibly the base of a cumulus cloud.
Also remember: A funnel cloud is a visible condensation funnel with no related strong winds at the surface. Not all funnel clouds evolve into a tornado. Nevertheless, many tornadoes are preceded by a funnel cloud. Most tornadoes are able to produce strong winds at the surface while the visible funnel is still above the ground. It is difficult to discern the difference between a funnel cloud and a tornado from a distance.
Now the reason why they happen in the daytime more often than night is because the sun acts as a heat source which can cause moisture to build. When moisture builds and gets heated....clouds form. When clouds form, they grow in to even larger clouds therefore producing thunderstorms or rain. During the night time, dry air has a better ability to move in. If there is so much moisture (leftover from daytime heating), this effect does not happen therefore allowing the lasting moisture to "stick" in a certain area. If the moisture is totally unstable, the ability for a tornado to form is likely under certain storm ridden conditions.
