Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Anatomy of a supercell, time-lapse captures rotation

Talk about "weather eye candy."

This phenomenal time-lapse of a rotating supercell thunderstorm in Wyoming Sunday captures the rotating mesocyclone as it spins overhead near Newcastle in eastern Wyoming.

The system shows the tight rotation with the storm. One of the reasons this storm is so photogenic is that it's what we call a "low precipitation" or "LP Supercell."  The relative lack of heavy rain and dry air around the storm make for excellent viewing conditions. LP Supercells are more common in the (drier) western states.

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You can see why meteorologists are concerned and why the National Weather Service issues warnings when rotating supercells like this hover overhead, even if they don't produce tornadoes.

The video was shot by Basehunters, a storm chasing and photography group from Norman, Oklahoma.

No tornado was reported with this storm according to storm reports form NOAA's Storm Prediction Center. Two tornadoes were reported Sunday, one in Nebraska and one in Montana.

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