Where do tornadoes form with respect to the parent storm cell?
Tornadoes have a strong tendency to form near the right rear portion of a thunderstorm cell, particularly if it is an isolated storm called a supercell. The apparent mesocyclone, out of which many tornadoes form, is often centered in this updraft region of the storm. To the north and east are falling the heavy rain and hail. But the mesocyclone, which often appears as a hook-shaped echo on radar, tends to feature largely powerful updrafts, and therefore the region is characterized by a rain free base. Thus many tornadoes occur in areas with little rainfall (though sometimes large hailstone may be falling). This explains why many tornado pictures show clear skies in the background. GO TO TOP What is a wall cloud? A wall cloud is a feature that accompanies and processes many tornadoes. Its appearance is noted by severe storm spotters with concern and is a visible manifestation of the tornado mesocyclone. It is an often abrupt lowering of the rain-free base of the cumulonimbus cloud into
