05/03/06 NOW: KS/MO/TX/OK/KY

[Andy Wehrle]

A fairly potent-looking supercell has just crossed the Kansas/Missouri border and is moving along the Vernon/Barton county line with several reports of tornadoes, funnel clouds and rotating wall clouds. An impressive mesocyclone is clearly identifiable on base velocity and SRV.

T/Td spreads are fairly large (83/60) in the area, but apparently the storm has found something it likes, perhaps a boundary.

I hope SOMEBODY had enough faith in May to chase today...

 

[Matt Starkey]

In Texas, a nice storm (tornado warning) with a hook that located in northern Kent county southwest of Lubbock.

 

[Jeff Snyder]

The two supercells southeast of Lubbock are mighty impressive! The one in Kent co looks as though it's occluded a couple of times, with 2 seperate mesos at times. There's another supercell just wnw of that storm (in ne Garza county), with strong rotation as well. Jayton mesonet site is 81/61 with ESE wind, with mesoanalysis indicating 2500-3500 j/kg MLCAPE. Looks like a big HP best!

I can't imagine we won't see a tornado warning for Garza county soon... Strong rotation continues on the lowest tilt with that storm. Weak midlevel isn't helping any... There has been very high Dbz in the upperlevel with both of these storms, so very large hail (>baseball) may be falling from both of them.

 

[Matt Starkey]

The two supercells southeast of Lubbock are mighty impressive! The one in Kent co looks as though it's occluded a couple of times, with 2 seperate mesos at times. There's another supercell just wnw of that storm (in ne Garza county), with strong rotation as well. Jayton mesonet site is 81/61 with ESE wind, with mesoanalysis indicating 2500-3500 j/kg MLCAPE. Looks like a big HP best!

I can't imagine we won't see a tornado warning for Garza county soon... Strong rotation continues on the lowest tilt with that storm. Weak midlevel isn't helping any... There has been very high Dbz in the upperlevel with both of these storms, so very large hail (>baseball) may be falling from both of them.
[/b]

Tornado Warning issued for the Kent County Storm. On radar, a nice, tight hook echo.

 

[Dan Dawson]

Unless my eyes deceive me, it almost appears that those two supercells are beginning a fujiwhara interaction. The cell to the west of the Kent County storm is diving SE. If it's circulation begins to rotate to the east around the south side of the Kent County storm, which is pretty much stationary, then it will be evidence for this.

 

[nickgrillo]

I chased with Dick McGowan earlier in southeast KS and southwest MO after the tornado-warned supercell that developed east of the sfc boundary intersection and right along the OFB from prior convection earlier in the day. We darted southward to Fort Scott and then headed eastward from there (getting ready to punch the hailcore) towards Nevada, before the storm quickly weakened. The storm was highly surface-based and had a crisp updraft as we got on US 54 -- but the storm weakened as we entered Nevada. We decided to head westward towards the developing (which appeared to be linear -- with very fuzzy anvils) convection near Iola, before deciding that they looked like crap and we decided to head back north. Apparentley, soon after that, the southern most storm got it's act together and produced a tornado near Fort Scott (after we had already headed north and had no idea). The storm interacted with the outflow boundary and the increased low-level vorticity (with SPC mesoanalysis showing > 1500 j/kg mlCAPE across the region through the afternoon) which was stretched by the storm's updraft. SRH was pretty meager across southeast KS today -- but the baroclinicity associated with the surface boundary certainly helped to compensate for the weak helicity -- as the second supercell "rode" the boundary eastward (and produced the two reported tornadoes) and ingested the rich low-level vorticity.

The complex of tornadic convection still continues to progress eastward along the surface boundary at 20-25mph across southwest MO right now... SPC mesoanalysis shows about 1500 j/kg of mlCAPE invof the storms with about 50 m2/s2 0-1km SRH.

How lovely... <_<

 

[Kiel Ortega]

Unless my eyes deceive me, it almost appears that those two supercells are beginning a fujiwhara interaction. The cell to the west of the Kent County storm is diving SE. If it's circulation begins to rotate to the east around the south side of the Kent County storm, which is pretty much stationary, then it will be evidence for this.
[/b]

Dan I was wondering if I really was seeing that (could it really be?!). It's been an excellent day in strange mesoscale processes and an excellent example of effects on the radar, down near LUB. The Kent Co storm has maybe moved a grand total of 5 miles over the past hour or so....and it's survived another meso slamming into it, a gust front passage and time itself. Nice AP to the NW of LUB when the gust front passed through and there is pretty good velocity folding on the Floyd Co storm.

 

[Bill Tabor]

Unless my eyes deceive me, it almost appears that those two supercells are beginning a fujiwhara interaction. The cell to the west of the Kent County storm is diving SE. If it's circulation begins to rotate to the east around the south side of the Kent County storm, which is pretty much stationary, then it will be evidence for this.
[/b]

Yep. That's pretty cool. I wouldn't be surprised to see a tornado or two logged off of these two storms. Pretty strong rotation and as other mentioned nice hook. Interesting to watch that boundary pass through to the south as well. Probably intensifying. Wonder what the effect will be as the boundary reaches a bit further south? Perhaps the storm will break loose of the boundary and weaken.

They appear to have merged now. That southern end moving with the boundary may be good for a torn.

 

[Dan Dawson]

Dan I was wondering if I really was seeing that (could it really be?!). It's been an excellent day in strange mesoscale processes and an excellent example of effects on the radar, down near LUB. The Kent Co storm has maybe moved a grand total of 5 miles over the past hour or so....and it's survived another meso slamming into it, a gust front passage and time itself. Nice AP to the NW of LUB when the gust front passed through and there is pretty good velocity folding on the Floyd Co storm.
[/b]

It certainly has the appearance of a Fujiwhara interaction. I was looking at loops of SRV at different tilts on GRLevel3, and the western couplet initially was moving SSE, and then beginning to hook SE as it approached the Kent County meso, which is what you would expect if they are interacting in this manner.

Also, if you look at the reflectivity loops, you see this tiny cell develop to the south of the Kent county storm, and immediately blast NE to get ingested into the forward flank of the storm, without disrupting the circulation in the slightest (the small cell may even have been embedded in the mesocylonic circulation).

 

[Marc Austin]

Springfield, MO is getting a tornado warning yet again this year! How many times is that now?

 

[mrobinett]

Im nowcasting for Mark Humphries, he's getting some incredible pictures from the Kent Co. interaction, he's at a safe distance.

 

[bill mudd]

Im nowcasting for Mark Humphries, he's getting some incredible pictures from the Kent Co. interaction, he's at a safe distance.
[/b]

hey mike I hope Marc does collect and post some of those pics - he may have been one of the few on this storm, amazing to see on radar as I watched it for at least a couple hours as it initiated in NM - looks to have been swallowed up by the action earlier right now

and even more amazing no tornado reports (yet) even though it hooked for a long stationary time, maybe it was in the boonies.....hmmm - amazing

 

[jladue]

It certainly has the appearance of a Fujiwhara interaction. I was looking at loops of SRV at different tilts on GRLevel3, and the western couplet initially was moving SSE, and then beginning to hook SE as it approached the Kent County meso, which is what you would expect if they are interacting in this manner.
[/b]

This is something I remember back in 2001 on May 20 or something like that in eastern OK. The lead supercell dropped a tornado near Dustin while the trailing nontornadic supercell caught up to the lead. It was quick but the lead veered to the left and the trailing storm swung around to the right and accelerated. What I find amazing is the diversity of supercell motions that allow for this type of interaction. It sure shows me what a loose approximation the supercell motion technique really is. I wish I was there in person.

 

[B Doss]

Just an update. Arrived back in LBB moments ago from the rain, wind, and hostility. Not ready to start a reports thread but wanted to comment on the big ole' high-based HP spinning on it's fat ass in Kent Co. Not sure about the interaction you guys are mentioning.... something I've only read about occuring with cyclones(Iris?) --- I had limited access to radar at the time and virtually no now-caster, but visually I could clearly see garza county cell 'wrapping' around. The structure is incredible, I've never seen anything quite like it. There was a high wall cloud and spun out a couple funnels, I stuck around to see how the boundary would interact with the storm, but never saw a tornado, however, I really wasn't in the best position to observe a touchdown.

Not been mentioned so far is the significant damage that took place in Hockley county. Power is out in Anton, Abernathy, New Deal, and Idalou. I've seen some video of what I would call significant structural damage in Anton to numerous buildings due to straight-line winds. Apparently Anton and others experienced a 1-2 punch from the intial gust fronts as the storms rolled in and then again from north to south moving outflow.

EDIT: Scurry Co. tornado warned now, doppler indicated with Snyder in it's sights.