storm cell

noun

1. an air mass formed by powerful updrafts and downdrafts moving in convective loops, the smallest unit of a storm system.

storm cell

1. An air mass that contains up and down drafts in convective loops, moves and reacts as a single entity, and functions as the smallest unit of a storm-producing system.

Example Sentences

A dust devil is a bit like a miniature storm cell.

From Washington Post

The flash and bang was an unexpected “one-hit wonder” that came from a small storm cell, meteorologist Tyler Kranz said.

From Seattle Times

Surrounded by a little storm cell of gesturing hands, they have a fluttering, responsive quality that speaks to all the bubbles of intimate rapport that form and re-form within large and happy families, which — despite what Tolstoy wrote — are not actually all alike, are they?

From Washington Post

The latest wild storm cell is likely to ease in Sydney on Tuesday, Cooke told local television, but the risk of flooding could remain through the week as most river catchments were already near full capacity even before the latest storm.

From Reuters

That was when the southernmost storm cell in the line predictably began to intensify.

From Washington Post