Do thunderstorms move with the wind? (Multicell and other)?

Question

What way do thunderstorms move relative to the wind? It is my understanding they move with the wind with the gust front on the leeward side, is this correct? Recently I was watching a thunderstorm coming towards me and it was clearly and rapidly moving completely opposite the wind wile approaching, over and passing me.. It appeared the be a multicell. Is this normal? Was it just creating cells against the wind? Should it not normally create new cells in front of the gust front which is on the leeward side?

Answer 1

The storms updraft could be pulling air in towards it and make it seem like it is going against the wind. Storms generally go with the wind, especially in linear mesoscale convective systems. Single and supercellular thunderstorms will sometimes be following an arbitrary path, especially in the case of splitting cells. Supercellular storms will sometimes follow a boundary (i.e. dry line or cold front).

Answer 2

Wind can travel at different directions at different altitudes. It is possible that the wind at the Earth's surface was moving in one direction while the wind at the altitude of the storm was moving in another.

In general, wind moves toward warmer, rising air. There may have been a micro-climate condition in your area creating a smaller, weaker uprising of air that was strong enough to move the air lower down while not being strong enough to affect the thunderstorm as it moved toward a larger uprising of air.

Answer 3

Thunderstorms move with the air mass that they are in. They also create their own winds with the up and down drafts within and surrounding the cell. These may seem to blow contrary to the direction of the cell movement.

Answer 4

they move with the wind, but they also create it.