mesocyclone
noun
me·so·cy·clone
ˌme-zə-ˈsī-ˌklōn 
ˌmē-,
-sə-ˈsī-
: a rapidly rotating air mass within a thunderstorm that often gives rise to a tornado
Examples of mesocyclone in a Sentence
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The tornado forms as the mesocyclone accelerates from the bottom up—and the feature intensifies its rotation, in a way similar to an ice skater who pulls her arms into her body to spin faster, says Jana Houser, a supercell thunderstorm and tornado radar analysis expert at Ohio State University.
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Catherine Duncan, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024
Other field campaigns followed, but scientists still haven’t definitively answered why some supercell thunderstorms create tornadoes while others don’t progress beyond a mesocyclone.
—Carolyn Wilke, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Nov. 2023
Why there weren’t tornadoes What this squall line did not contain was small pockets of rotation called mesocyclones, which breed tornadoes.
—Dan Stillman, Washington Post, 30 July 2023
Exceptionally strong wind shear — winds that change in direction or speed with altitude — is needed for mesocyclones to develop, but the strongest shear Saturday afternoon remained well north of the region; there were tornadoes reported in New England.
—Dan Stillman, Washington Post, 30 July 2023
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Catherine Duncan, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024
Other field campaigns followed, but scientists still haven’t definitively answered why some supercell thunderstorms create tornadoes while others don’t progress beyond a mesocyclone.
—Carolyn Wilke, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Nov. 2023
Why there weren’t tornadoes What this squall line did not contain was small pockets of rotation called mesocyclones, which breed tornadoes.
—Dan Stillman, Washington Post, 30 July 2023
Exceptionally strong wind shear — winds that change in direction or speed with altitude — is needed for mesocyclones to develop, but the strongest shear Saturday afternoon remained well north of the region; there were tornadoes reported in New England.
—Dan Stillman, Washington Post, 30 July 2023
See all Example Sentences for mesocyclone
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“Mesocyclone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mesocyclone. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
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