2016-03-30 EVENT: KS/OK/TX

[Tim Paitz]

Several storms are already firing up in central OK, and a few have gone severe, with the southernmost storm containing Ping-Pong ball sized hail. The CAPE here is a lot higher than farther east but there isn't as much directional shear so hail is likely the main threat.

 

[Tim Paitz]

An interesting thing to note is that the stronger LLJ is farther east in the Ark-La-Miss region so that's probably why the tornado threat is higher there.

 

[JeremyS]

I hope this is okay to post this here, but I chased out in southeast Nebraska starting west of Nebraska City and drifting east with time. What a bust of a trip! I don't know what happened, but maybe the southwest winds out ahead of the dryline/triple point really screwed things? I seem to remember in the SPC outlooks leading up to this day that they thought the area near the low pressure would have the better forcing. The HRRR also showed cells popping on every run today. Eventually a couple of small ones went up just behind the cold front, but not before I headed home on a blue sky bust. I wasn't expecting a tornado outbreak but was hoping to see something(hail, etc). Oh well I guess it is only March 30th!

 

[Will Leskovec]

I hope this is okay to post this here, but I chased out in southeast Nebraska starting west of Nebraska City and drifting east with time. What a bust of a trip! I don't know what happened, but maybe the southwest winds out ahead of the dryline/triple point really screwed things? I seem to remember in the SPC outlooks leading up to this day that they thought the area near the low pressure would have the better forcing. The HRRR also showed cells popping on every run today. Eventually a couple of small ones went up just behind the cold front, but not before I headed home on a blue sky bust. I wasn't expecting a tornado outbreak but was hoping to see something(hail, etc). Oh well I guess it is only March 30th!

I actually took the same route as you. My original target was actually around Wichita, but work got in the way and I had to chase somewhere closer. My guess is that the cloud cover ahead of the approaching dryline suppressed the CAPE for storms, but I honestly don't know enough to comment on such things.

 

[Mike Talbot]

I'm not quite sure if this is the correct place to post this at, please forgive me if its not, but here is my short video of today's chase.

 

[Tim Paitz]

I'm not quite sure if this is the correct place to post this at, please forgive me if its not, but here is my short video of today's chase.

Where was that at?

By the way, are you related to Skip?

 

[Mike Talbot]

Where was that at?

By the way, are you related to Skip?

This was just north of Tulsa, I believe Turley, OK. And no I am not related to Skip.

 

[JeremyS]

I actually took the same route as you. My original target was actually around Wichita, but work got in the way and I had to chase somewhere closer. My guess is that the cloud cover ahead of the approaching dryline suppressed the CAPE for storms, but I honestly don't know enough to comment on such things.

According to the mesoanalysis page on the SPC site, surface CAPE values made it up to 1500 j/kg yesterday afternoon, so I don't think that was the problem. I really feel like the lack of convergence along the cold front/dry line caused by the veering surface winds were the biggest issue.