--- title: This Time-Lapse Video Shows a Supercell Cloud Forming in Wyoming description: A supercell cloud is a kind of spinning thunderstorm, and one recently developed in Wyoming, captured in this time-lapse video. canonical: https://time.com/106069/watch-a-cloud-supercell-form-in-this-time-lapse-video/ author: Kyle Chayka article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-20T15:51:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:09:49.224Z og:title: This Crazy Time-Lapse Video Shows the Formation of a 'Spinning Thunderstorm' og:description: Also known as a "cloud superstorm" og:url: https://time.com/106069/watch-a-cloud-supercell-form-in-this-time-lapse-video/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt370083b2f6baf70f/69868cace8524b9fd760296a/2014-04-26t051528z_270351181_gm1ea4q0z.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Low-level thunderstorm supercell passes over the area of Hampton og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Crazy Time-Lapse Video Shows the Formation of a 'Spinning Thunderstorm' twitter:description: Also known as a "cloud superstorm" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt370083b2f6baf70f/69868cace8524b9fd760296a/2014-04-26t051528z_270351181_gm1ea4q0z.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch a Cloud Supercell Form in This Time-Lapse Video by [Kyle Chayka](https://time.com/author/kyle-chayka/) ## Kyle Chayka May 20, 2014 3:51 PM UTC  A low-level thunderstorm supercell passes over the area of Hampton, Arkansas late April 24, 2014\. A strong storm system, with high winds and torrential rain, is taking shape in the south central United States this weekend and threatens to produce tornadoes, which have been relatively uncommon so far this year, forecasters said. A low-level thunderstorm supercell passes over the area of Hampton, Arkansas late April 24, 2014\. A strong storm system, with high winds and torrential rain, is taking shape in the south central United States this weekend and threatens to produce tornadoes, which have been relatively uncommon so far this year, forecasters said.Gene Blevins—Reuters by [Kyle Chayka](https://time.com/author/kyle-chayka/) ## Kyle Chayka May 20, 2014 3:51 PM UTC A few days ago in Wyoming, swirling clouds came together in a kind of half-tornado. Instead of spinning down to the ground, it ended suddenly in a flat mass that spat out heavy rains and hail. It was a “supercell,” and this time-lapse video shows exactly how it was formed. [Supercells](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercell) are sometimes called “rotating thunderstorms”—they’re one of the most severe types of thunderstorms in the world. Their spinning, which is clearly visible in the video, sets them apart. Horizontal wind starts the air spinning, then an updraft angles the spin upwards. Then the updraft gets caught up in the spinning column to turn the whole cloud mass into a slightly less dangerous version of a tornado. Thankfully, [Basehunters](https://www.facebook.com/basehunters), a group of weather-chasers, got close enough to shoot the video so we didn’t have to. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/106069/watch-a-cloud-supercell-form-in-this-time-lapse-video/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/106069/watch-a-cloud-supercell-form-in-this-time-lapse-video/"},"headline":"Watch a Cloud Supercell Form in This Time-Lapse Video","datePublished":"2014-05-20T15:51:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:09:49.224Z","description":"A supercell is a spinning thunderstorm","url":"https://time.com/106069/watch-a-cloud-supercell-form-in-this-time-lapse-video/","keywords":["Newsfeed","weather","Wyoming","Science topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt370083b2f6baf70f/69868cace8524b9fd760296a/2014-04-26t051528z_270351181_gm1ea4q0z.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kyle Chayka","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kyle-chayka/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt370083b2f6baf70f/69868cace8524b9fd760296a/2014-04-26t051528z_270351181_gm1ea4q0z.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Low-level thunderstorm supercell passes over the area of Hampton","caption":"Low-level thunderstorm supercell passes over the area of Hampton","creditText":"Gene Blevins—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/106069/watch-a-cloud-supercell-form-in-this-time-lapse-video/","name":"Watch a Cloud Supercell Form in This Time-Lapse Video"}}]}] ```