Winter supercell draws attention in Brazilian city with tornado-shaped cloud formation

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Wednesday, July 2, 2025

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Tornado-shaped cloud draws attention in the Brazilian city of Piracicaba.
Image: Erik Kaue (stormchaser).
Supercell was caught by local stormchasers
Image: Erik Kaue (stormchaser).

On the afternoon of Friday, June 27, 2025, a supercell thunderstorm developed over the city of Piracicaba, in São Paulo state, Brazil, attracting widespread attention due to an unusual tornado-shaped cloud formation. The storm began forming around 4 PM in Botucatu and evolved into a classic supercell as it moved over rural areas of the city.

Storm chasers documented the presence of a mesocyclone, a rotating air column fueling the storm, with strong updrafts. A striking funnel-shaped condensation appeared, but the chasers clarified this was not a tornado funnel cloud but a tail cloud, a low-level cloud feature caused by warm, humid inflow feeding the storm’s mesocyclone.

Following the event, the city experienced heavy rain and reports of small hail in several urban and rural areas, along with strong winds and significant hail accumulation in the countryside.

The Reporting Platform and Volunteer Network of Severe Storm Observers (PREVOTS) had forecast heightened instability for the region that day, warning that some storms might develop into supercells with hail as a main hazard.

Meteorologists of PREVOTS noted that the conditions leading to this rare winter supercell were due to the interaction between a cold, dry air mass, which caused temperatures to drop to 0°C (32°F) on June 25, according to the Integrated Center for Agrometeorological Information (CIIAGRO); and a warm front, coupled with moderate wind shear and high availability of warm, humid air, factors that are uncommon for this time of year.

File:Storm Radar Piracicaba 2025-06-27.jpg
Storm reflection on Doppler radar
Image: Windy.com.


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