the average gustnado lasts a few seconds to a few minutes, although there can be several generations and simultaneous swarms. most have the winds equivalent to an ef0 or ef1 tornado (up to 110 mph or 177 km/h), and are commonly mistaken for tornadoes. however, unlike tornadoes, the rotating column of air in a gustnado "usually" does not extend all the way to the base of the thundercloud. gustnadoes actually have more in common with (minor) whirlwinds. they are not considered true tornadoes (unless they connect the surface to the ambient cloud base) by most meteorologists and are not included in tornado statistics in most areas. sometimes referred to as spin-up tornadoes, that term more correctly describes the rare tornadic gustnado that connects the surface to the ambient clouded base, or more commonly to the relatively brief but true tornadoes that are associated with a mesovortex.