What is a Supercell Storm and Lightning?

Product of a “Loner” Thunderstorm

The thunderstorms that produce supercell lightning are loners, if one was to personify them. While other forms of lightning clouds can be found in the same storm system, supercells have a tendency to form in areas several miles from the main storm front. They’re rare and can be found in a few isolated areas of the United States and Australia. However, they have the potential to be the most dangerous, considering that they can strike almost anywhere if the conditions are right.

Why are they Super?

This particular system gets its name for good reasons: it produces hail, torrential rainfall, strong winds, and substantial downbursts as well as the lightning. On top of that, it is one of several types of clouds that can spawn tornadoes. And, they can come in numerous sizes and distinguish itself from other systems by their large-scale appearance and ability to dominate local climate up to 20 miles away.

The damage they bring can be devastating. According to the website UCAR (University Corporation for Atmosphere Research), a June 1995 storm swept across the West Texas Panhandle, producing several supercells, and tornados – with two reaching F4 strength. The system caused extensive damage to Dimmitt and Friona, Texas, and even stripped pavement from the local highways (UCAR, 2010).

In another case, a storm with supercells produced baseball hails east of Carnegie, Oklahoma, which caused extensive damage to cars, homes and businesses. Another system dumped 2-inch hail onto Chaparral, New Mexico in 2004; it too caused wide-spread damage.

Part of Four Classification for Thunderstorms

Supercell is one of four classifications for thunderstorms. The others are:

• squall line,
• multi-cell, and
• single-cell.

Supercells are characterized by a deep, continuously-rotating updraft known as a mesocyclone. It is within this mesocyclone that tornados can be spawned.

Due to its ability to move slowly and to last for hours, some have dubbed the supercell as a “quasi-steady-state” storm.

Another distinction of supercell is its appearance. While most thunderstorms are similar in form, the supercell - according to the National Weather Service (NWS) - will include a rain-free base (with or without a wall cloud), tail cloud, flanking line, overshooting top and back-sheared anvil. These are usually observed in or near the southwest portion of the storm (NWS, 2010).

It is also a longer lasting storm system. Due to its ability to move slowly and to last for hours, some have dubbed the supercell as a “quasi-steady-state” storm. This can lead to more rain, wind and more concentration of lightning strikes in a particular area. The slower a storm travels, the more damage they will cause.

Another feature of a supercell puts it in conflict with the winds created by a storm. It has the capability to deviate from the mean winds (or main environmental winds). Often they travel or rotate to the right of the main winds, thus being categorized as a “right-mover” (NWS, 2010).

Still, it also has the ability to move to the left of that wind (called left-movers). They can also develop two separate updrafts with opposing rotations, which splits the storm into two supercells. (Answers, 2010). Thus, making this type of storm cloud extremely dangerous and unpredictable.

Two Types of Supercell Thunderstorms

There are two types of supercell thunderstorms. They are:

• Low Precipitation (LP) and
• High Precipitation (HP) storm.

Arid climates such as the high plains of the United States will experience a LP supercell. Regions with moist or wet climates will experience the HP supercell. Although most reported cases of supercells are documented in Western and Midwestern America, there are cases of it hitting places such as England and parts of Europe. The country with frequent supercells is Eastern Australia.

Dangerous Lightning

On top of the destruction, supercells can bring, its lightning is often considered much more intense than other forms of thunderstorms. The reason, again, has to do with the formation of the clouds within this system.

According to Penn State’s Dutton Institute, supercells are “prolific lightning producers.” The article continues to state that “some of the high rates of lightning flashes” ever recorded came from supercell storms.

Best advice if you find yourself in one of these storms: find shelter as soon as possible.

Another thing that makes the lightning from a supercell unique is that they are often known as positive discharge lightning. According to the University of Illinois website, Illinois Extension, positive discharge lightning “comes from the top of the storm,” sometimes upwards of 10 miles off the ground. As a result the lightning is much more powerful and positively charged than “regular cloud to ground lightning, and can strike the ground miles from the base of the storm. And it can strike far enough away that it can come out of what appears to be clear skies (Illinois Extension, 2021).”

Rare But Dangerous

Supercell is by far the rarest of thunderstorms. Still, it doesn’t mean it’s the least harmful. These storms are much more concentrated and can pack a vicious punch. If one sees these massive rotating clouds, it’s best to take cover. Its lightning strikes are only part of what it has to offer.

Best advice if you find yourself in one of these storms: find shelter as soon as possible. With these storms, you never know when, where and how it will hit you.

Video documentation of a supercell storm and lightning in action:

Work Cited

1. Mi Mi editors: “Mean Wind :” Mimi.hu (retrieved 2010)
2. Sarah A. Tessendorf "Characteristics of lightning in supercells": UCAR.edu. (2009).
3. Answer.com editors: “Supercell (retrieved 2010)”:Answer.com page not available.
4. WW2010 writer, “Supercell Thunderstorms”: WW2010/ University of Illinois.edu
5. NOAA, National Weather Service writer; “Jet Stream –Online School for Weather”: NOAA.gov (retrieved 2010).
6. Illinois Extension editors: "What makes supercells super?": Illinois Extension/ University of Illinois. edu. (April, 2021).
7. Penn State Editor: "Multicell and Supercell Thunderstorms": Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences/Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science (retrieved 2026).