06/15/07 NOW: OK / TX

[Billy Griffin]

Interesting Special Weather Statement out of OUN just a moment ago: mentions "many of the showers and thunderstorms will produce funnel clouds" with an "occasional touchdown" possible. Unusual wording, I thought.

Nevertheless, looks like more of a flooding concern again for much of central and southern Oklahoma into north-central Texas.

Currently, looks like rapid intensification of numerous thunderstorms over southern into central OK. Via radar, it almost looks as if that surface low is centered just to the east of Lawton, OK. Low-level vorticity may be enhanced so that we indeed do see numerous funnel clouds from these non-supercell storms. Wow - on visible satellite imagery, it almost looks like a tropical storm feature that has formed over Oklahoma!

 

[David Draun]

I think these are cold-air funnels. They are typical with closed lows and very cold air aloft. They are weak and short-lived, and the Cu or Cb doesn't necessarily need to be precipitating to produce them, just have strong vertical motion in the updraft. Very rarely do they touch down as weak tornadoes.

However, the atmosphere in this area is also supportive of supercells, especially near outflow and frontal boundaries.