By now, a supercell that already had produced a tornado in another state had been well-sampled by the 2009 crews of the V.O.R.T.EX.-2 project. Yet, with persistence and favorable road alignments, they followed along, sampling the air mass all around with a myriad of methods, including one of a series of “StickNet” devices. These were, in effect, portable weather stations residing on heavy-duty tripods, collecting high-resolution data as the storm passed just abeam to its north. At this time, the device rested in southwesterly inflow winds ahead of the rear-flank gust front, with the mesocyclone area in the middle of the shot, to the northeast. Within minutes, that gust front hit this location, cooled the temperatures considerably, and switched the winds to northwesterly.
13 NNW Lodgepole NE (5 Jun 9) Looking NE
41.3226, -102.7268Supercell and Sticknet
By now, a supercell that already had produced a tornado in another state had been well-sampled by the 2009 crews of the V.O.R.T.EX.-2 project. Yet, with persistence and favorable road alignments, they followed along, sampling the air mass all around with a myriad of methods, including one of a series of “StickNet” devices. These were, in effect, portable weather stations residing on heavy-duty tripods, collecting high-resolution data as the storm passed just abeam to its north. At this time, the device rested in southwesterly inflow winds ahead of the rear-flank gust front, with the mesocyclone area in the middle of the shot, to the northeast. Within minutes, that gust front hit this location, cooled the temperatures considerably, and switched the winds to northwesterly.
13 NNW Lodgepole NE (5 Jun 9) Looking NE
41.3226, -102.7268