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Credit & Copyright: Impact Lento (Kevin MacLeod, Incompetech)
Explanation:
Is that a cloud or an alien spaceship?
It's an unusual and sometimes dangerous type of thunderstorm cloud called a
supercell.
Supercells may spawn damaging
tornados,
hail,
downbursts of air,
or
drenching rain.
Or they may just look impressive.
A supercell
harbors a
mesocylone --
a rising column of air surrounded by drafts of falling air.
Supercells
could occur over many places on Earth but are particularly common in
Tornado Alley of the USA.
Pictured above are four time lapse sequences
of a
supercell
rotating above and moving across
Booker,
Texas.
Captured in the video are new clouds forming near the
storm center,
dust swirling on the ground,
lightning flashing in the upper clouds,
all while the impressively
sculptured complex rotates ominously.
Finally, after a few hours, as shown in the final sequence,
dense rain falls as the storm begins to die out.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: clouds
Publications with words: clouds
See also:
- APOD: 2024 November 19 Á Undulatus Clouds over Las Campanas Observatory
- APOD: 2024 July 7 Á Iridescent Clouds over Sweden
- APOD: 2023 August 20 Á A Roll Cloud Over Wisconsin
- APOD: 2023 February 12 Á Mammatus Clouds over Nebraska
- Nacreous Clouds over Lapland
- A Retreating Thunderstorm at Sunset
- A Fire Rainbow over West Virginia