Imagine trying to build a tower of cards in a wind tunnel. No matter how strong the foundation, the upper layers won’t stand a chance. That’s what wind shear does to a developing storm.

Wind shear refers to the change in wind speed and/or direction with height in the atmosphere. In the context of tropical weather, vertical wind shear — the difference in wind between the surface and higher levels of the atmosphere — plays a crucial role in whether a tropical storm or hurricane can develop and intensify.

When wind shear is low, it allows a storm to remain vertically aligned, meaning the warm core and thunderstorms at the center can stay organized. This is essential for a tropical cyclone to strengthen.

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In contrast, strong wind shear can disrupt that vertical structure by tilting or displacing the storm’s rising air and thunderstorms away from the low-level center. As a result, the system can weaken or fail to develop altogether.

Wind shear is one of the most important limiting factors for hurricane formation, even when other conditions, like warm sea surface temperatures and ample moisture, are favorable.

For example, an otherwise promising tropical wave moving through the Main Development Regioncan be torn apart if it encounters high wind shear. Conversely, when shear is unusually low across the Atlantic, it often leads to a more active hurricane season.

However, wind shear doesn’t just affect hurricanes — it also plays a key role in the formation and behavior of thunderstorms.

In environments with moderate to strong wind shear, thunderstorms can become more organized and longer-lasting, often developing into supercells, which are capable of producing severe weather like hail, strong winds and tornadoes.

On the other hand, in low-shear environments, thunderstorms tend to be short-lived and more scattered.

Jennifer Gray is a weather and climate writer for weather.com. She has been covering some of the world's biggest weather and climate stories for the last two decades.