03/15/08 DISC: GA/SC/NC/

[Danny Neal]

A rain foot can have an appearance of a curling upward movement that can look deceptively like an updraft. However, my understanding of microbursts (dry or wet) is that they are true downdraft phenomena, and usually they occur in the front flank of a storm. In this case, I'm wondering if the d/d we're seeing is actually the rear flank downdraft wrapping around an updraft core. The microbursts I've seen have been violent and usually did not induce shelf cloud formation (which I guess wouldn't be unheard of).

More to the point: without us knowing what part of the storm we're looking at, it's all speculation. Microbursts do not tend to happen close to the updraft, so a lot depends on whether that clear area is actually associated with an updraft or is of no significance.

I believe it was shot from a web cam on the north side of the airport looking north at the storm. Although when it was live coverage they kept saying this is looking west at the storm approaching so. It seems like they were a little gun-shy. Looking at the radar at the time it did "look" decent for a while there although I thought it would be more of a gargantuan hail producer. When I first looked at the video I thought shelf cloud all the way, but when I saw 20X the speed I noticed there was rotation so I deduced it was at most a low hanging wall cloud with an RFD cut, leading to a strong RFD gust front wrapping around the south side of this feature.(2nd video) I am sure there will more videos on youtube of the future and the NWS will issue their reports but right now I am not too confident I am watching a tornado, let alone a large damaging one.

 

[Brian Stertz]

It looks like there is that cascading rain/hail curtain as the RFD plows into the updraft from the west...assuming that the camera is pointed northward. The tower cams are a good idea but should not be the endline source for determining it's tornado from over 5 miles away or more...then running with it on air. Tornado frenzy... I guess thats what it should be called and attributed to.

 

[rdale]

Final storm summary is out from NWS FFC and they have no tornado, not even wind damage, reported from the Tornado Emergency issued for Atlanta.

That's a discussion of its own - but I'd assume that would rule out the camera loop being from a tornado and/or microburst.

 

[Perry Williams]

Final storm summary is out from NWS FFC and they have no tornado, not even wind damage, reported from the Tornado Emergency issued for Atlanta.

That's a discussion of its own - but I'd assume that would rule out the camera loop being from a tornado and/or microburst.

No tornado, but as the same supercell passed over my home in Douglasville about 15-20 minutes before the towercams video was shot in Atlanta, it dropped hail 2.50 to 2.75" inches in diameter........produced a 53 mph wind gust, and was displaying a very ominous funnel cloud as it passed a short distance south of my home.

I not normally frightened of severe storms, but readily admit this one scared me a little; especially knowing a similar supercell had already spawned a killer EF3 (borderline EF4 IMO) just 30 miles to my NNW (between Cedartown and Cartersville, GA) three hours earlier.

 

[Howard Robinson]

What do you guys think is in this video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxfa1AVQlS8. It looks like a tornado, but I am thinking its something else.

 

[Perry Williams]

What do you guys think is in this video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxfa1AVQlS8. It looks like a tornado, but I am thinking its something else.

This was the same supercell which dropped tennis to baseball sized hail here in Douglasville about twenty minutes earlier. While it was displaying a large funnel cloud as it passed just south of my home, apparently no tornado ever touched down; to my knowledge, there has been no damage (other than from hail and straight line wind damage) along the path of this supercell from the Alabama border to south Atlanta or beyond.

Here's a short video of the supercell near interstate 20 just south of Douglasville, shot by meteorologist Mike Phelps (a good friend) and his chase partner only about 3/4 mile south of my location.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxhTY7o-4dM