Supercell thunderstorm. Meteorologists watching a supercell thunderstorm over rural Kansas, USA. A supercell thunderstorm is a severe long-lived storm

---

Supercell thunderstorm. Meteorologists watching a supercell thunderstorm over rural Kansas, USA. A supercell thunderstorm is a severe long-lived storm within which the wind speed and direction changes with height. This produces a strong rotating updraft of warm air, known as a mesocyclone, and a separate downdraft of cold air. Tornadoes may form in the mesocyclone, in which case the storm is classified as a tornadic supercell thunderstorm. The storms also produce torrential rain and hail. This storm did not produce any tornadoes, but did produce giant hailstones.

---

Size: 4888px × 3036px
Photo credit: © JIM REED/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 05/06/2004, 21st, 5, 2004, adult, america, american, caucasian, century, climate, cloud, cloudy, downdraft, equipment, extreme, female, field, giant, hailstones, human, june, kansas, male, man, mesocyclone, meteorological, meteorologist, meteorologists, meteorology, north, rotating, severe, states, storm, stormchasers, stormy, supercell, thunderstorm, united, updraft, usa, vehicle, watching, weather, white, woman