When the wind is up and conditions are right, I get in my car and follow violent storms.

風が強くなって条件が整った時に

"Crazy," you say? Perhaps, but really I chase these sky beasts to learn about them.

車に乗り込み、暴力的な嵐を追う。

I want to share with you what I know.

狂っている、と言うのか？おそらく、しかし、本当に私はそれらについて学ぶためにこれらの空の獣を追いかけています。

Tornadoes are rapidly rotating columns of air that form inside storms then connect with the ground via a funnel of cloud.

私が知っていることを共有したい。

When that happens, they tear across the Earth, posing a huge threat to life and property.

竜巻は、嵐の中で形成される急速に回転する空気の柱です。

Because of this, there's a great deal of research into these phenomena, but the truth is, there's still a lot we don't know about how tornadoes form.

雲の漏斗を介して地面とつながる

The conditions that may give rise to one tornado won't necessarily cause another.

そうなると、彼らは地球を横切って裂けてしまう。

But we have learned a lot since people first started recording tornadoes, like how to recognize the signs when one is brewing in the sky.

生命と財産に大きな脅威を与えています。

Are you coming along for the ride?

そのため、これらの現象についての研究が盛んに行われています。

Tornadoes begin with a thunderstorm but not just any thunderstorm.

しかし、実際には、竜巻がどのように形成されるかについては、まだわからないことがたくさんあります。

These are especially powerful, towering thunderstorms called supercells.

1つの竜巻が発生する可能性のある条件

Reaching up to over 50,000 feet, they bring high force winds, giant hailstones, sometimes flooding and great flashes of lightning, too.

必ずしも別の原因になるわけではありません。

These are the kinds of storms that breed tornadoes, but only if there are also very specific conditions in place, clues that we can measure and look out for when we're trying to forecast a storm.

しかし、人々が初めて竜巻を記録するようになってから、私たちは多くのことを学んできました。

Rising air is the first ingredient needed for a tornado to develop.

空に醸造しているときのサインの見分け方のようなものです。

Any storm is formed when condensation occurs, the byproducts of the clouds.

一緒に来てくれるのか？

Condensation releases heat, and heat becomes the energy that drives huge upward drafts of air.

竜巻は雷雨から始まりますが、ただの雷雨ではありません。

The more condensation and the bigger the storm clouds grow, the more powerful those updrafts become.

これらはスーパーセルと呼ばれる、特に強力でそびえ立つ雷雨です。

In supercells, this rising air mass is particularly strong.

50,000フィート以上の高さまで到達し、強風をもたらします。

As the air climbs, it can change direction and start to move more quickly.

巨大な雹、時には洪水、そして雷の大閃光も。

Finally, at the storm's base, if there is a lot of moisture, a huge cloud base develops, giving the tornado something to feed off later, if it gets that far.

これらは竜巻を繁殖させる嵐の種類です。

When all these things are in place, a vortex can develop enclosed by the storm, and forming a wide, tall tube of spinning air that then gets pulled upwards.

しかし、非常に具体的な条件が整っている場合に限ります。

We call this a mesocyclone.

嵐を予測しようとしているときに測定したり、気にしたりすることができる手がかりです。

Outside, cool, dry, sinking air starts to wrap around the back of this mesocyclone, forming what's known as a rear flank downdraft.

上昇気流は竜巻が発生するために必要な最初の成分です。

This unusual scenario creates a stark temperature difference between the air inside the mesocyclone, and the air outside, building up a level of instability that allows a tornado to thrive.

結露が発生すると、あらゆる嵐が発生します。

Then, the mesocyclone's lower part becomes tighter, increasing the speed of the wind.

雲の副産物。

If, and that's a big if, this funnel of air moves down into that large, moist cloud base at the bottom of the parent storm,

結露は熱を放出します。

it sucks it in and turns it into a rotating wall of cloud, forming a link between the storm that created it and the Earth.

そして、熱がエネルギーとなって、巨大な空気の上方へのドラフトを駆動します。

The second that tube of spinning cloud touches the ground, it becomes a tornado.

結露が多くなり、嵐雲が大きくなってきます。

Most are small and short-lived, producing winds of 65-110 miles per hour, but others can last for over an hour, producing 200 mile per hour winds.

上昇気流が強力になるほど

They are beautiful but terrifying, especially if you or your town is in its path.

スーパーセルでは、この上昇気流が特に強い。

In that case, no one, not even tornado chasers like me, enjoy watching thing unfold.

空気が登ってくると、方向を変えてより早く動き出すことができます。

Just like everything, however, tornadoes do come to an end.

最後に、嵐のベースで、湿気が多い場合。

When the temperature difference disappears and conditions grow more stable, or the moisture in the air dries up, the once fierce parent storm loses momentum and draws its tornado back inside.

巨大な雲台が発達して竜巻が発生する

Even so, meteorologists and storm chasers like me will remain on the lookout, watching, always watching to see if the storm releases its long rope again.

糧になるものがあるんだそこまで行けば