At first, with the brown grass and abundance of icy ground cover, this scene conjured thoughts of midwinter more than mid-June. The grass had been parched by drought, however; and the frozen stuff was hail. Supercells are often notoriously prolific hail dumpers, especially on the high plains of Colorado. Some hail drifts in this area were over four inches deep. Almost as thick was the … [Read more...]
Rainbow through Falling Hail
An anticyclonic supercell, moving to the left of the average (mean) wind, moved overhead and to our E across the Great Plains of eastern Colorado. There is a great deal in this photograph, and yet, only a part of what we experienced in person with this fascinating storm. A dazzlingly sunlit cascade of hailstones descended upon us, thousands upon thousands of tumbling, sparkling white jewels, … [Read more...]
The Aroya Antisupercell
Most supercells spin counterclockwise (cyclonically) in the Northern Hemisphere and move to the right of the average wind direction in their environment. However, some supercells peel away to the left instead. They inhale much of their supply of unstable air on the opposite flank from cyclonic supercells, and rotate the opposite way (clockwise)! Notice, in the mirror image below, how classic … [Read more...]
The Cheyenne Wells Antisupercell
What is the deal with looking NW at photogenic, anticyclonic, left-moving supercells, amidst NW winds aloft, in Cheyenne County, CO? I had to wonder, observing another one six years and four days after the first. As in that case, I'll present the actual wide-angle view (left) and mirror image (below) for conceptual comparison. Unlike the one in 2002, a Monthly Weather Review article probably … [Read more...]
Gotebo Supercell Sunset
A March splendor, this supercell moved slowly ENE from near Rocky OK to N of Gotebo and beyond, almost reaching Oklahoma City well after dark, then being entrained around another, later-developing supercell. The relatively slow storm motion and outstanding cloud definitions reminded us of a June storm, and was a welcome break from the frantic chases and brief observing stops that typically … [Read more...]
Rocky Hailer
Rounded, striated, tiered storm structures, often known as "stacks of plates", are a common visual characteristic of dryline supercells like this, where low clouds or rain often don't interfere with viewing from the inflow region. Notice the strong resemblance of the Rocky storm here to the "flipped" version of the Aroya anticyclonic supercell from several years before in Colorado. I surely did, … [Read more...]
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