Every supercell intercept offers something at least a little different about storm behavior and structure. Here, the storm had a common but still nicely defined tail cloud extending rearward of its “flanking line”; inflow parcels there rose upward on a low slope, beneath a weak capping inversion, then reached the bulk of updraft mass which forced them above the level of free convection. Meanwhile, as the supercell churned into a hazy and moist inflow region—somewhat cooler but still with unstable enough low-level inflow for storm maintenance—a scuddy inflow tail formed just above the surface and raced northward into the region east of the mesocyclone, just off-screen at right. This was a piece of the strengthening low-level jet that had been captured by forcing from the storm itself and channeled along a convergence line. Sometimes a window of sunset hour or early-evening tornado opportunity arises from such a process, but not in this case, as the air to the east was even more stable. Regardless, at this time, the storm was breaking windshields to my northwest with hail around 2 inches in diameter. The supercell soon became elevated, and quickly dissipated at the end of twilight.
3 W Ringgold TX (25 March 18) Looking W
33.8171, -97.9847Two Tails
Every supercell intercept offers something at least a little different about storm behavior and structure. Here, the storm had a common but still nicely defined tail cloud extending rearward of its “flanking line”; inflow parcels there rose upward on a low slope, beneath a weak capping inversion, then reached the bulk of updraft mass which forced them above the level of free convection. Meanwhile, as the supercell churned into a hazy and moist inflow region—somewhat cooler but still with unstable enough low-level inflow for storm maintenance—a scuddy inflow tail formed just above the surface and raced northward into the region east of the mesocyclone, just off-screen at right. This was a piece of the strengthening low-level jet that had been captured by forcing from the storm itself and channeled along a convergence line. Sometimes a window of sunset hour or early-evening tornado opportunity arises from such a process, but not in this case, as the air to the east was even more stable. Regardless, at this time, the storm was breaking windshields to my northwest with hail around 2 inches in diameter. The supercell soon became elevated, and quickly dissipated at the end of twilight.
3 W Ringgold TX (25 March 18) Looking W
33.8171, -97.9847