Why does a supercell form?
1) A supercell begins when fast upper atmosphere winds blow across slower winds close to Earth’s surface, creating a rotating motion. When this rolling mass of air gets lifted up it forms a “mesocyclone.” 2) The mesocyclone pushes some of the cool downdraft off in front of the storm, creating its own mini-cold front, called a “gust front”, which acts like a snowplow pushing warm air up. 3) As the process repeats and repeats, some of the downdraft gets spun by the rotation of the mesocyclone into tornadoes. Supercells can last for several hours, traveling hundreds of miles, and bringing heavy rain, large hail, high winds and violent tornadoes.
