A funnel-shaped cloud associated with rotation and consisting of condensed water droplets

A condensation funnel extending from the base of a towering cumulus, associated with a rotating column of air that is not in contact with the ground.

A large cumulus cloud with great vertical development, usually with a cauliflower-like appearance.

A scale of wind damage intensity in which wind speeds are inferred from an analysis of wind damage.

A thunderstorm with a persistent rotating updraft. Responsible for a remarkably high percentage of severe weather events - especially tornadoes, extremely large hail and damaging straight-line winds.

Lines or bands of low-level clouds that move (feed) into the updraft region of a thunderstorm, usually from the east through south.

A small but very intense vortex within a tornado circulation. Several suction vortices typically are present in a multiple-vortex tornado. Much of the extreme damage associated with violent tornadoes (F4 and F5 on the Fujita scale) is attributed to suction vortices.

A tornado in which two or more condensation funnels or debris clouds are present at the same time, often rotating about a common center or about each other. Can be especially damaging!

A thunderstorm which produces tornadoes, hail 0.75 inches or more in diameter, or winds of 50 knots (58 mph) or more. Structural wind damage

A solid or nearly solid line or band of active thunderstorms.

A storm-scale region of rotation, typically around 2-6 miles in diameter and often found in the right rear flank of a supercell (or often on the eastern, or front, flank of an HP storm)

Variation in wind speed (speed shear) and/or direction (directional shear) over a short distance.

A radar reflectivity pattern characterized by a hook-shaped extension of a thunderstorm echo, usually in the right-rear part of the storm (relative to its direction of motion).

A product issued by NWS local offices indicating that a particular weather hazard is either imminent or has been reported. This indicates the need to take action to protect life and property

An NWS product indicating that a particular hazard is possible, i.e., that conditions are more favorable than usual for its occurrence.

A small-scale column of air that rapidly sinks toward the ground, usually accompanied by precipitation as in a shower or thunderstorm

A small-scale current of rising air. If the air is sufficiently moist, then the moisture condenses to become a cumulus cloud or an individual tower of a towering cumulus

Generally, any wind that is not associated with rotation, used mainly to differentiate them from tornadic winds.