01VISUAL STORM LITERACY
Storms in the Field
See how storms are built, how they evolve, and what visual features can tell you in context.
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The severe-weather
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Start with the question in front of you. Explore the science behind storms through clear guides, real footage, and the connections between them.
FIELD NOTEFOLLOW THE QUESTION. FIND THE CONNECTION.
Weather is for everyone
Enter anywhere. Follow the links. Build a richer picture of the atmosphere as you go.
Explore three ways
BROWSE ALL GUIDES →02READ THE ATMOSPHERE
Storm Forecasting
Connect soundings, radar, satellite, observations, and models into a more useful picture of the environment.
SEE ALL FORECASTING GUIDES →03FIELD CRAFT FOR ADULTS
Storm Chasing
Learn the planning, position choices, ethics, and documentation practices behind responsible field work.
SEE ALL CHASING GUIDES →Start with a term
ALL GLOSSARY TERMS →Begin with a precise definition, then follow the related terms across forecasting, storm structure, and field craft.
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Convective Available Potential Energy
Convective Available Potential Energy, or CAPE, is the total potential energy a lifted air parcel could gain from positive buoyancy between the level of free convection and…
↗Convective Inhibition
Convective Inhibition, or CIN, is the energy a lifted air parcel must be given in order to reach its level of free convection, measured as the negative…
↗0-500 m Storm-Relative Helicity
The 0-500 m storm-relative helicity (SRH) is the amount of streamwise horizontal spin present in the lowest 500 meters of the atmosphere, viewed from the storm's frame…
↗Vertical Wind Shear
Vertical wind shear is a change in wind speed and/or direction with height in the atmosphere. It is what separates and stretches an updraft from its downdraft,…
↗Wall Cloud
A wall cloud is a persistent, often rotating lowering that hangs beneath the rain-free base of a supercell's updraft, marking the place where the mesocyclone is drawing…
↗Shelf Cloud
A shelf cloud is a low, horizontal, wedge-shaped cloud attached to the leading edge of a thunderstorm's outflow, formed where the storm's cold gust front lifts warm,…
↗Rear-Flank Downdraft
The rear-flank downdraft, or RFD, is a region of sinking, often relatively dry air that develops on the back side of a supercell's rotating updraft. It wraps…
↗Radial Velocity
Radial velocity is the component of a target's motion measured directly along the line between the radar and the target, positive when the target is moving away…
↗Storm Motion
Storm motion is the speed and direction at which a thunderstorm moves across the ground. It is the combination of advection by the mean flow and the…
↗Chase Target
A chase target is a specific area, usually a town, county, or short highway segment, where a chaser expects the best overlap of storm potential, storm visibility,…
Featured guide
How to Read a Skew-T
Learn a repeatable way to read temperature, moisture, buoyancy, and wind on a Skew-T without getting lost in the parameter table.
Explore the guide →FORECASTING LAB
01
01
From the field
BROWSE STORM ANATOMY →
Storm mode
Classic supercell
The Titan U standard
Deep links. Clear explanations. Real context.
Every guide is built to make the next useful connection visible. Forecasts are reasoned assessments, not guarantees.
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