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
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The mesocyclone was not the tornado, per se, that tracked through Bowie. 
Jason Samenow, Washington Post, 5 July 2022 The final category is the supercell storm, which is the most dangerous, and forms when there is a mesocyclone or updrafts within the cell that spiral as the air travels upward. Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 16 July 2022 These factors fuel an engine of rising and rotating air called a mesocyclone, which powers a supercell. Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 14 Dec. 2021 The hook is generated by heavy rain wrapping counterclockwise around a low- to mid-level updraft circulation, called the mesocyclone. Washington Post, 30 July 2021 Brewing within the storm is a draft with the right rotation, size, depth and duration for Doppler radar to label it as a mesocyclone: the precursor to a tornado. Leslie Nemo, Scientific American, 3 Aug. 2021 If not a tornado, then a sudden blast of straight-line wind could have been generated if part of the mesocyclone itself descended to the surface as a microburst-like downdraft. Washington Post, 2 July 2021 This storm complex was not a supercell; Doppler radar never detected a rotating updraft (called a mesocyclone). Washington Post, 27 May 2021 Sillin’s analysis focused on where the beam is below 6,000 feet above the ground since this is where a storm’s low-level mesocyclone is located and thus important for detecting tornadoes. Marshall Shepherd, Forbes, 20 Mar. 2021 See More
Jason Samenow, Washington Post, 5 July 2022 The final category is the supercell storm, which is the most dangerous, and forms when there is a mesocyclone or updrafts within the cell that spiral as the air travels upward. Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 16 July 2022 These factors fuel an engine of rising and rotating air called a mesocyclone, which powers a supercell. Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 14 Dec. 2021 The hook is generated by heavy rain wrapping counterclockwise around a low- to mid-level updraft circulation, called the mesocyclone. Washington Post, 30 July 2021 Brewing within the storm is a draft with the right rotation, size, depth and duration for Doppler radar to label it as a mesocyclone: the precursor to a tornado. Leslie Nemo, Scientific American, 3 Aug. 2021 If not a tornado, then a sudden blast of straight-line wind could have been generated if part of the mesocyclone itself descended to the surface as a microburst-like downdraft. Washington Post, 2 July 2021 This storm complex was not a supercell; Doppler radar never detected a rotating updraft (called a mesocyclone). Washington Post, 27 May 2021 Sillin’s analysis focused on where the beam is below 6,000 feet above the ground since this is where a storm’s low-level mesocyclone is located and thus important for detecting tornadoes. Marshall Shepherd, Forbes, 20 Mar. 2021 See More Word History
First Known Use
1963, in the meaning defined above