tornado
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tornado
An extremely strong, funnel-shaped whirlwind that extends from the ground to a thundercloud and can cause major destruction.
Der Tornado fegte über das Land und riss Dächer von den Häusern.
The tornado swept across the land and tore roofs off the houses.
The word 'Tornado' (tornado) is often used as the first part of compound nouns to describe things related to this weather phenomenon. Examples include 'Tornadogefahr' (tornado danger) or 'Tornadowarnung' (tornado warning).
Die Wetterstation hat eine offizielle Tornadowarnung herausgegeben.
The weather station issued an official tornado warning.
'Tornado' (tornado) is often combined with verbs that describe destruction or fast movement. Typical verbs are 'verwüsten' (to devastate), 'zerstören' (to destroy), 'treffen' (to hit), or 'fegen' (to sweep).
Ein starker Tornado hat die ganze Region verwüstet.
A strong tornado devastated the entire region.
To describe the effects of a tornado, the passive is often used. This puts the affected people or objects in focus.
Viele Häuser wurden von dem Tornado zerstört.
Many houses were destroyed by the tornado.
hurricane / violent storm
'Tornado' and 'Orkan' both have to do with very strong wind, but they do not refer to the same weather event. A tornado is a narrow, funnel-shaped whirlwind that extends from the ground to a thundercloud. An Orkan is a very strong storm with extremely high wind speed, but without this typical funnel shape. The words can be confused because both are dangerous and can cause major damage. If you mean the visible vortex, 'Tornado' is more precise. For a large-scale storm with very strong wind, 'Orkan' is the better fit.
Nach dem Gewitter zeigte ein Video einen Tornado über den Feldern.
After the thunderstorm, a video showed a tornado over the fields.
Wegen des Orkans blieben viele Züge am Abend stehen.
Because of the hurricane-force storm, many trains stopped running that evening.