World Book "supercell storm"

Supercell is a very rare storm, but has tremendous destructive power. Besides being referred to as a supercell storm, according to its form, this storm is also referred to as a rotating thunderstorm. Supercell contains powerful destructive winds, ice cubes the size of baseballs, and tornadoes. With all the ingredients in this storm, Supercell is able to have a tremendous impact on anything in its path.
Supercells consist of several different parts. At the most basic level, a supercell features a rotating updraft and a powerful downdraft. An updraft is where warm, moist air rises and condenses in a storm and thanks to the strong wind shear, the updraft and downdraft are usually in different places - which allows the storm to develop as it can 'breathe'