Tornadoes can last from several seconds to over an hour. Most tornadoes, however, last less than 10 minutes.
While it's difficult to know the duration of the longest-lived tornado with absolute certainty due to historical reporting inconsistencies (where long-lived events may have been tornado series), the general consensus is that most tornadoes are relatively short-lived phenomena.
Here's a breakdown:
- Typical Tornado Lifespan: Less than 10 minutes.
- Range of Duration: Several seconds to more than an hour.
- Historical Reporting Issues: Early reports of extremely long-lived tornadoes are often suspected to be tornado series rather than single, continuous events.
