Supercell thunderstorm. The powerful main updraft can be seen by the presence of an overshooting top above the anvil. Photo by Howard Bluestein.

This schematic looks down from above and displays typical surface conditions associated with a mature supercell thunderstorm. Note that the updraft and downdraft (rain area) regions are separated physically. In this manner, the supercell can exist in a quasi-steady-state for a few hours.

This diagram shows the structure of a mature "supercell" thunderstorm. (The vertical scale is exaggerated so that details of the cloud structure can be shown.) Pink arrows indicate the winds at various heights in the atmosphere. Red arrows are updrafts; blue arrows are downdrafts. Note that because wind speeds increase with height, rain falls away from the updraft, allowing the storm to be maintained for hours. Supercell thunderstorms are significantly more destructive than ordinary thunderstorms.