Question

Is it possible to have a vortex with more than one attachment point?

Answer 1

In my study of two vortexes, fire whirls and tornadoes, I have come to hear a bit about vortex attachment. As far as I can understand, a vortex is attached to its "power source" for lack of a better term and cannot leave it without rapidly losing energy.

For instance, a fire whirl is attached to the hot fire ground from where it draws its energy.

And a tornado is attached the the Supercell thunderstorm it spawns from.

However I have also heard (and seen) more complicated variations. One of these being Landspouts with a surface spawned and attached rotation getting stretched into thunderstorms and then becoming full fledged tornadoes.

Answer 2

We have selected the appendage/flat-plate experiment of Dickinson [10], which is ... symmetry reveals an evolution of the vortex system from a saddle point of attachment with no spiral ...