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Mesocyclone
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A mesocyclone is a meso-gamma mesoscale region of rotation, typically around 2 to 6 mi in diameter, most often noticed on radar within thunderstorms. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is usually located
A mesocyclone (at left) in the Central Zone of the city of Piracicaba, in southeastern Brazil, on January 28, 2025
A mesocyclone (at left) in the Central Zone of the city of Piracicaba, in southeastern Brazil, on January 28, 2025
Supercell diagram with the mesocyclone rotation in red
Supercell diagram with the mesocyclone rotation in red
Mesocyclones are sometimes visually identifiable by a rotating wall cloud like the one in this thunderstorm over Texas.
Mesocyclones are sometimes visually identifiable by a rotating wall cloud like the one in this thunderstorm over Texas.
A tornado developing under a wall cloud within a mesocyclone near Falcon, Colorado
A tornado developing under a wall cloud within a mesocyclone near Falcon, Colorado
Tornado
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A tornado, also known as a twister, is a rapidly rotating column of air that extends vertically from the surface of the Earth to the base of a cumulonimbus or cumulus cloud. Tornadoes are often visibl
Mesocyclone
…high-precipitation variety of supercell. The area overlaid by a mesocyclone’s circulation may be several miles (km) wide, but substantially larger than any tornado that may develop within it, and it is within mesocyclones that intense tornadoes form. Mesocyclones are medium-scale vortices of rising and converging…
A tornado approaching Elie, Manitoba, Canada on June 2007
A tornado approaching Elie, Manitoba, Canada on June 2007
A tornado near Anadarko, Oklahoma, 1999. The funnel is the thin tube reaching from the cloud to the ground. The lower part of this tornado is surround
A tornado near Anadarko, Oklahoma, 1999. The funnel is the thin tube reaching from the cloud to the ground. The lower part of this tornado is surrounded by a translucent dust cloud, kicked up by the tornado's strong winds at the surface. The wind of the tornado has a much wider radius than the funnel itself.
Photographs of the Waurika, Oklahoma tornado of May 30, 1976, taken at nearly the same time by two photographers. In the top picture, the tornado is l
Photographs of the Waurika, Oklahoma tornado of May 30, 1976, taken at nearly the same time by two photographers. In the top picture, the tornado is lit by the sunlight focused from behind the camera, thus the funnel appears bluish. In the lower image, where the camera is facing the opposite direction, the sun is behind the tornado, giving it a dark appearance.
A waterspout near the Florida Keys in 1969.
A waterspout near the Florida Keys in 1969.