Severe weather and convection

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 (but not always) visible in the form of a condensation funnel originating from the cloud base, with a cloud of rotating debris and dust close to the ground. Most tornadoes have wind speeds less than , are about across, and travel several kilometers (a few miles) before dissipating. The most extreme tornadoes can attain wind speeds of more than , can be more than in diameter, and can stay on the ground f

Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning produces rapid expansion of the air in the path of a lightning bolt. In turn, this expansion of air creates a sonic shock wave, often referred to as a "thunderclap" or "peal of thunder". The scientific study of thunder is known as brontology and the irrational fear (phobia) of thunder is called brontophobia.

upright=1.35|thumb|Lightning from a thunderstorm near Pritzerbe, Germany

genus of clouds, dense towering vertical cloud associated with thunderstorms and atmospheric instability

thumb|upright=1.3|A waterspout near Thailand in 2016

thumb|upright=1.35|Cloudburst in Iceland

thumb|A low precipitation supercell in rural Northeast Colorado. 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 the four main classifications of thunderstormssupercell, squall line, multi-cell, and single-cellsupercells are the least common overall and have the potential to be the most severe. Supercells are often isolated from other thunderstorms, and can dominate the local weather up to away. They tend to last 2–4 hours, but under highly favo

offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system

thumb|A whirlwind thumb|A dust devil at school ground thumb|Whirlwind, 61 km northeast of Broome, Western Australia

thumb|Example of a thermal column between the ground and a cumulus

thumb|right|A downburst seen in Phoenix, Arizona. 325px|thumb|Illustration of a microburst at an airport. The air moves in a downward motion until it hits the surface. It then spreads outward in all directions. The wind regime in a microburst is opposite to that of a tornado.

unusual, severe or unseasonal weather

whirlwind induced by a fire and often partially composed of flame or ash

any dangerous meteorological phenomena with the potential to cause damage, serious social disruption, or loss of human life

sudden and brief rain or snowfall of variable intensities

a line of thunderstorms

thumb|A mesocyclone (at left) in the Central Zone of the city of Piracicaba, in southeastern [[Brazil, on January 28, 2025]] thumb|Supercell diagram with the mesocyclone rotation in red

atmospheric phenomenon

meterological phenomena

narrow corridor or filament of concentrated moisture in the atmosphere

lightning produced by a volcanic eruption

indicator of atmospheric instability used in meteorology

small‐scale current of rising air

thumb|right|Timelapse video of a derecho approaching and eventually passing over an airport in South Dakota, United States A derecho (, from , 'straight') is a widespread, long-lived, straight-line wind storm that is associated with a fast-moving complex of severe thunderstorms referred to as a mesoscale convective system.

Pendant or hook-shaped radar signature.

REDIRECT Downburst

thumb|Stratocumulus castellanus

complex of thunderstorms organized on a larger scale

specific altitude in the atmosphere

cloud formation

height at which an air parcel becomes saturated

the height in the atmosphere at which a rising parcel of air reaches surrounding air of the same temperature

mesoscale convective system shaped like a ancher's bow

measure in meteorology

thunderstorm composed of multiple storm cells

Measure of thunderstorm probability.

sudden and violent windstorm at sea

__NOTOC__ thumb|A landspout tornado in the early stages of development by the town of Lamar, Colorado|alt=Photograph of a landspout under mostly cloudy skies thumb|A landspout tornado forms from a developing thunderstorm near Cheyenne Wells, Colorado. Landspouts are exceptionally common in Eastern Colorado. thumb|Landspout on September 29, 2007, in Minas Gerais

thumb|right|410px|A gustnado near Swan Quarter, North Carolina, on April 26, 2019

Unique kind of mesoscale convective system.

air that flows outwards from a storm system

broadband electromagnetic impulse

dimensionless number

boundary between moist and dry air

thunderstorm that is generally weak and usually not severe.

atmospheric phenomenon

part of the anvil of a thunderstorm

fluid dynamics condition

weather system

thunderstorm that produces severe weather for short periods

type of Fast moving cold weather front

repeated area of rain that moves over the same region in a relatively short period of time

temperature difference measure of the stability of the atmosphere

detection of debris from a tornado in weather radar data

phenomenon of convection

region of maximum detection of tornadoes in South America

smallest unit of a storm producing system

in meteorology, the flow of a fluid into a large collection of that fluid