mesocyclone

meteorology

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tornadoes

  • Tornado Alley
    In tornado: Prediction and detection of tornadoes

    …watch the formation of a mesocyclone (that is, a region of rotating air within a thunderstorm). On Doppler radar, the presence of a well-organized mesocyclone is indicated by a small region of concentrated shear in the wind. On one side of the mesocyclone the rotating winds flow toward the radar;…

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  • Tornado Alley
    In tornado: 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. Conditional…

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