Basehunters’ Wyoming Supercell Timelapse, May 2014

Basehunters recorded a developing supercell near Wright and Newcastle, Wyoming, on May 18, 2014. The time-lapse makes the storm’s changing structure unusually easy to follow.

What distinguishes a supercell

The National Weather Service identifies a deep, persistent rotating updraft as the feature that distinguishes a supercell. Such storms can produce severe weather, but seeing a supercell does not establish that a tornado occurred.

Read time-lapse as accelerated observation

Time-lapse compresses the storm's evolution so that organised cloud movement becomes easier to follow. It also changes the apparent pace: the speed of a feature crossing the screen is not a direct wind measurement. Watch the relationship between the layered cloud and the ground, while keeping claims about hail size, rainfall or a tornado separate from the shape visible in the film.

Further information: National Weather Service explanation of supercells

Explore more: Watford City’s separate tornado event; cloud shapes and recognised terminology.

A storm with a date, place and credited observers

The route described with the recording runs between Wright and Newcastle in eastern Wyoming. The dated sequence gives the storm a specific setting instead of leaving it to circulate as anonymous footage of severe weather somewhere else. A recognisable horizon is especially useful in time-lapse because it stays comparatively stable while the atmosphere above it changes, helping the eye follow the development.

A rotating updraft gives a supercell its organised structure, but the presence of that structure does not mean a tornado has occurred. The National Weather Service explanation linked here provides that distinction. For this film, Basehunters and Colt Forney's credits keep the visual record connected to the people who made it. Appreciate the cloud's evolution as a historical observation, and use current forecasts and warnings for decisions about weather affecting you now.