Heavy rain along the rear-flank downdraft of a supercell masked most of the mesocyclone region, but that didn’t stop the scene from erupting in a beautiful blast of wind-blown lightning. It was no coincidence that the discharge’s shape seemed to follow the out-rush of air. Precipitation loading helped the downdraft region to create severe winds, which in turn redirected the invisible, downward-propagating step leader away from the core before it could be set alight by the essentially instantaneous return-stroke surge.
3 NNE Elk City OK (19 May 12) Looking N
35.4508, -99.3781Blown Discharge
Heavy rain along the rear-flank downdraft of a supercell masked most of the mesocyclone region, but that didn’t stop the scene from erupting in a beautiful blast of wind-blown lightning. It was no coincidence that the discharge’s shape seemed to follow the out-rush of air. Precipitation loading helped the downdraft region to create severe winds, which in turn redirected the invisible, downward-propagating step leader away from the core before it could be set alight by the essentially instantaneous return-stroke surge.
3 NNE Elk City OK (19 May 12) Looking N
35.4508, -99.3781