Codex

The Stormchaser Codex

Every shape you spot in the game goes into your Codex. This is the public field guide: what each thing is, how to spot it, how it shows on radar and what to do about it.

• Supercell Storm
  A thunderstorm with a persistent rotating updraft. It produces most violent tornadoes, very large hail and damaging winds, and it can last for hours.
• Shelf Cloud Cloud
  A low, wedge-shaped cloud on the leading edge of a storm, formed where cool outflow lifts warm air. It marks a gust front, not a tornado.
• Wall Cloud Cloud
  A lowered, localised cloud base beneath the rain-free part of a supercell’s updraft. A persistent, rotating wall cloud is a common precursor to a tornado.
• Funnel Cloud Cloud
  A rotating cone of condensed water droplets extending from a cloud that has not reached the ground. When it touches down, it is a tornado.
• Rope Tornado Tornado
  A thin, twisting tornado shaped like a rope. Many tornadoes become ropes as they weaken, but some thin tornadoes are intense while they last.
• Cone Tornado Tornado
  A tornado that narrows from the cloud base to the ground: the classic textbook funnel. The size and strength vary widely.
• Wedge Tornado Tornado
  A tornado at least as wide as it is tall, looking like a dark wall rolling across the land. Wedges are often intense, though width alone does not set the rating.
• Multiple-Vortex Tornado Tornado
  A tornado containing two or more smaller whirls that rotate around a common centre. The suction vortices can leave narrow streaks of heavier damage.
• Landspout Tornado
  A weak tornado that forms from the ground up, usually below a growing cumulus cloud rather than a mature supercell.
• Hook Echo Radar
  A hook-shaped extension on the back side of a supercell’s radar echo, caused by precipitation wrapping around the rotating updraft. Tornadoes are often found near the tip of the hook.
• Clear Slot Cloud
  A gap of clearer air that wraps around the rotating part of a supercell, created by the rear-flank downdraft. Many tornadoes form near this notch.
• Mammatus Cloud
  Pouch-shaped clouds hanging below the anvil of a thunderstorm. They are striking at sunset but are not a sign that a tornado is forming.