The Supercell, King of Storms
August 3, 2021
Martin Lisius, StormStock Founder
A supercell, also called a ‘mesocyclone,’ is a thunderstorm with a persistent, rotating updraft. Supercells produce the most intense tornadoes and largest hail of any storm type on earth. They are the rarest of thunderstorms, but also the most powerful.
A well-organized supercell can last hours and can track 100 miles or more at times. They are an efficient engine of convection and posses their own anatomy including a wall cloud, ‘beaver tail,’ anvil, over-shooting top, inflow notch, ‘bear’s cage,’ rear-flank downdraft, and striations.
Supercells in the northern hemisphere are a type of cyclone, a storm that spins counterclockwise, like a hurricane. Other than that, they are unlike a hurricane because they rely on the presence of atmospheric wind shear, both speed shear and directional shear. Hurricanes create their own dynamics from a relatively calm atmosphere. Supercells need a dynamic atmosphere in order to develop. They require instability and lift to create a storm. Then directional shear to get them to rotate. And finally, speed shear to push them over which allows the precipitation (rain and hail) to separate from the updraft for an uninterrupted supply of fuel (warm, moist air).
The delicate balance of ingredients, rarity, organization, and visual impact of a supercell make them amazing creations of nature.
I’ve been forecasting, tracking and photographing supercells for more than 30 years, and am still awed by them. Especially the most organized cells. Really, I insist on the latter. I am jaded. I’ve had too much of a good thing and if the storm isn’t high-end, then I get bored and head for a barbeque restaurant. It’s fairly common though that a storm that I am disgusted with suddenly gets its act together and starts to do something that catches my attention. Like a lightning bolt striking within a hundred feet of me. Maybe it just needed to move into better air, maybe it was waiting for the evening low-level jet to kick in. We call that, “six o’clock magic.” The pursuit of such storms requires a lot of patience and trust in the atmosphere.
As a filmmaker, I try my darndest to convey what I feel onto a format that I can share with others. But I know that something will always be missing for the viewer. Being there.
Being out on the open prairie is multidimensional. I am surrounded by dynamics. Swirling clouds in every color and brilliant flashes of lightning. Fresh, rain-cooled air. The sound of thunder, wind, hail, rain. All of it pristine, natural, untouched by humans.
Maybe you can now understand why I do what I do.
You can license Martin’s spectacular storm footage through StormStock, a collection of weather imagery he founded in 1993. Dramatic and beautiful content shot on 4K, 8K, 16K and 35mm film that will add spice to your next award-winning TV program, commercial, feature