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A mesocyclone is a meso-gamma mesoscale (or storm scale) region of rotation , typically around 2 to 6 mi (3.2 to 9.7 km) in diameter, most often noticed on radar within thunderstorms.
In a mesocyclone, air rises and rotates around a vertical axis, usually in the same direction as low pressure systems. They are most often associated with a localised low-pressure region within a severe thunderstorm. Such storms can feature strong surface winds and severe hail.
Nov 1, 2023 · Supercells are characterized by a mile-wide rotating updraft called a mesocyclone that can last for hours. That rotation comes from wind shear, which sets wind nearer to the ground spinning ...
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- Carolyn Wilke,Knowable Magazine
The cycle begins when a strong thunderstorm develops a rotating mesocyclone a few miles up in the atmosphere. As rainfall in the storm increases, it drags with it an area of quickly descending air known as the rear flank downdraft (RFD).
May 25, 2023 · Mesocyclones are rotating air columns associated with intense thunderstorms that can form tornadoes, hail storms, strong winds, and heavy rains. Scientists use radar data, modeling, and field observations to study mesocyclones and improve severe weather forecasting.
Mesocyclones form as warm core cyclones over land, and can lead to tornado formation. Waterspouts can also form from mesocyclones, but more often develop from environments of high instability and low vertical wind shear.
6 days ago · The mesocyclone. Tornadoes may occur wherever conditions favour the development of strong thunderstorms. Essential conditions for such storms are the presence of cool, dry air at middle levels in the troposphere, overlying a layer of moist, conditionally unstable air near the surface of the Earth.
