mesocyclone

American  

[mez-uh-sahy-klohn, mes-, mee-zuh-, -suh-] / ˌmɛz əˈsaɪ kloʊn, ˌmɛs-, ˌmi zə-, -sə- /

noun

Meteorology.

1. a small cyclone that arises near a thunderstorm and is sometimes associated with the occurrence of tornadoes.

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Etymology

Origin of mesocyclone

First recorded in 1970–75; meso- + cyclone

Example Sentences

These factors fuel an engine of rising and rotating air called a mesocyclone, which powers a supercell.

From Scientific American • Dec. 14, 2021

“There’s not just one anvil-shaped mesocyclone spiraling high up into the atmosphere,” Le Tellier writes, “but dozens of them, as if they were being lifted by an invisible hand, and all fusing together.”

From Washington Post • Nov. 30, 2021

Shearing winds tilt the top of the surviving vortex, causing cool rain to fall away from the warm surface air fueling the newly born mesocyclone, letting the supercell purr like a finely tuned engine.

From National Geographic • Dec. 28, 2015

By A mesocyclone tornado, a violently rotating column of air that descends from a thunderstorm.

From Slate • Apr. 2, 2012

Meteorologists call this rotating upward-moving mass a mesocyclone, and thunderstorms that contain them are known as supercells.

From New York Times • May 25, 2011