June 23, 2017
Cosmos Editorial
Most explanations of supercell thunderstorms focus on factors like moisture and wind shear as the reasons the massive storms form.
Storm chaser and filmmaker Chad Cowan prefers to focus on the big picture and think of them as ways that nature tries to correct an extreme imbalance. All weather can be thought of as the atmosphere’s attempt to reach a state of equilibrium, and when big imbalances build up, big storms are required to sort them out.
In the video above, Cowan shows timelapse footage of several supercell thunderstorms captured in the United States.
