The mesocyclone here (the fourth of seven total from this supercell) was a broad, elongated circulation that produced this large and ragged wall cloud. Taking a long time to organize, it began rotating rapidly, as it retreated slowly north-northwestward away from us and into more and more rain. In the low-contrast murk, we saw an ominous, bowl-shaped lowering that might have made a brief multivortex tornado in open country, but it was too poorly visible to say for sure. Later we saw (but not in time to photograph) a surprising glimpse of a brief, weak, filamentous tornado that popped out of the distant and deeply occluded skeleton of the previous mesocyclone. That tornado was more readily visible to a few observers who had crammed themselves into the “vault” area ENE of the newer circulation shown here. Now, if that weren’t enough…still another, similarly large and messy (but less photogenic) mesocyclone would form after this—a fifth occlusion. It didn’t do anything of consequence, and was buried in rain much of the time. Finally, with the sixth occlusion, we saw a better-defined tornado.
8 W Vigo Park TX (11 Jun 5) Looking NNW
34.6471, -101.635One Occlusion among Many
The mesocyclone here (the fourth of seven total from this supercell) was a broad, elongated circulation that produced this large and ragged wall cloud. Taking a long time to organize, it began rotating rapidly, as it retreated slowly north-northwestward away from us and into more and more rain. In the low-contrast murk, we saw an ominous, bowl-shaped lowering that might have made a brief multivortex tornado in open country, but it was too poorly visible to say for sure. Later we saw (but not in time to photograph) a surprising glimpse of a brief, weak, filamentous tornado that popped out of the distant and deeply occluded skeleton of the previous mesocyclone. That tornado was more readily visible to a few observers who had crammed themselves into the “vault” area ENE of the newer circulation shown here. Now, if that weren’t enough…still another, similarly large and messy (but less photogenic) mesocyclone would form after this—a fifth occlusion. It didn’t do anything of consequence, and was buried in rain much of the time. Finally, with the sixth occlusion, we saw a better-defined tornado.
8 W Vigo Park TX (11 Jun 5) Looking NNW
34.6471, -101.635