storm cell

noun

an air mass formed by powerful updrafts and downdrafts moving in convective loops, the smallest unit of a storm system.

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storm cell in Science

storm cell

An air mass that contains up and down drafts in convective loops, moves and reacts as a single entity, and functions as the smallest unit of a storm-producing system.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.