So in English, what this means is that on a radar, meteorologists will look for rotation happening in the atmosphere, and this persistent, rotating updraft within a supercell is the mesocyclone.

Radar can help determine the speed of wind, size of objects in the atmosphere and tornado intensity in real time.

When severe weather strikes, understanding the terminology can be the difference between life and death. Among these crucial ...

By Gary England, NEWS 9 Chief Meteorologist This screenshot was taken when there was a one quarter-mile wide multiple vortex tornado on the ground under the four mile wide radar indicated mesocyclone.

The rotating air in a supercell’s mesocyclone is too high by the time it starts spinning vertically; the storms need additional rotation nearer to the ground to become tornadic.

If you think about it, the radar is really just listening for the echo. News10NBC First Alert weather has the capability of showing a multitude of radars that gives you a comprehensive look at an ...

Radar allowed the detection of mesocyclones, which became the basis for tornado forecasts and a boon for chasers, who would stop at payphones periodically to call the lab for the latest radar intel.

Predicting which thunderstorms will produce a tornado and when is hard, and that’s where a lot of severe weather research is focused.