Supercell
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A supercell is a thunderstorm characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone, a deep, persistently rotating updraft. Due to this, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms. Of t
A low precipitation supercell in rural Northeast Colorado.
Supercell with a strong Mesocyclone in North Texas.
Supercell in Piracicaba, southeastern Brazil, on June 27, 2025, featuring a mesocyclone, a tail cloud, and a developing downdraft/rain curtain on the left.
A low precipitation supercell near Greeley, 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
Supercell
…amounts of hail, torrential rainfall, strong winds, and substantial downbursts. Supercells are one of the few types of clouds that typically spawn tornadoes within the mesocyclone, although only 30% or fewer do so. Supercells can occur anywhere in the world under the right weather conditions. The first storm…
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 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 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.