Original: Wind shear can be broken down into vertical and horizontal components , with horizontal wind shear seen across fronts and near the coast , and vertical shear typically near the surface , though also at higher levels in the atmosphere near upper level jets and frontal zones aloft .
Simplified: Severe thunderstorms , which can tornadoes and hailstorms , require wind shear to organize the storm in such a way as to maintain the thunderstorm for a longer period of time by separating the storms inflow from its rain-cooled outflow .