| Various different temperatures and wind interactions at different altitudes can cause a rotating updraft called a mesocyclone. |
|
| This helicity value was classified as a strong mesocyclone environment according to Davies-Jones. |
|
| Mesolow should not be confused with mesocyclone, which is a storm-scale phenomenon. |
|
| The best view of a mesocyclone is normally from a location east of the updraft, looking west. |
|
| If the thunderstorm is moving rapidly toward or away from you, the mesocyclone may be harder to detect. |
|
| In this manner the mesocyclone grows in strength in a positive-feedback, or self-amplifying, process. |
|
| As this happens, the mesocyclone rotates more quickly, which in turn strengthens the convergence of inflowing winds at its base. |
|
| Once it forms, the parent mesocyclone is reclassified as a tornado cyclone. |
|
| As spin-up of the mesocyclone continues, its rotating action begins to reorganize airflow in the updraft. |
|
| The middle level of the storm is usually the first area where cyclostrophic balance is achieved, and it is this section of the mesocyclone that begins to act as a dynamic pipe. |
|
| Frequently, the maturation of the mesocyclone is heralded at the bottom of the cloud by a lowering of a portion of the thunderstorm's base in the area of the updraft. |
|
