Meso-Gamma Vortex Caught On Radar?

[guest]

The link below shows a loop of an interesting feature moving east near Denver, loop from within the last half hour of this message. To me it looks like a vortex. Thought it was quite interesting. I wonder if it's just a coincidental pattern occuring in nature that looks like a vortex due to different cell propagations, or if it is a vortex, what is causing it? Topographic vortex shedding? A small-scale convectively induced vortex? A storm happening to form right where many small-scale vortices would be common anyway? Or an interactive convective vortex feature. Still going on radar, but it's morphed a bit. Obviously, with radar scan elevation, it's a rather low-mid-level feature. However, the feature shows up on PUX radar.

http://lamar.colostate.edu/~cmrozoff/radani.gif

Doppler velocities indicate strong outflow winds in the core of the "vortex" area. Maybe like a scaled-down bow echo-like feature.

Here's an update with Doppler radial velocity:
http://lamar.colostate.edu/~cmrozoff/rad_f..._ftg_v1_ani.gif
Corresponding base reflectivity:
http://lamar.colostate.edu/~cmrozoff/rad_ftg_ani.gif

Any comments?

Chris

 

[David Wolfson]

Looking at it zoomed in WeatherTap.... Sure looked like it had all the ingredients for a supercell for awhile including a good dose of lightning, except that it's practically scraping the ground. Finger of God for all the blasphemy on this BB, maybe? :lol:

 

[Larry J. Kosch]

Location of the Radar Site

Has anyone taken the time to check the radar reflection in relations to the location of the radar site?? You sometimes get some funny circular radar readings especially if you are doing base reflectivity. When storms goes over a radar site, the dish on the radar unit can't "see" up into the clouds. Unless the radar operator stop the sweep and point the dish up to nearly veritical.

In my area when I'm watching a storm system sweeping across NE, I sometimes have to switch between Hastings and Omaha NE radar sites. When the storms sweep over Hastings, the radar image goes circular. Then I have to switch over to Omaha to get a undistorted view of the storms coming in.

The radar site often shows up as a black dot in a field of blue precipitation. I do believe the radar site is south of Denver, right close to I-25 I believe.

Can anybody confirm the radar site near Denver??

 

[rdale]

The radar is just 'above' the 'v' in Denver - look at the base velocity image. I'm sorry - I'm not seeing anything that resembles a supercell, where is that at?

 

[Larry J. Kosch]

Thanks for the spot!

Gee, how clever are they?? Trying to hide the radar spot behind the city name?? Thanks.

After looking at the base reflectivity, I think it was just conicidential that the storm cell looked circular. If you watch the clouds below of where the circular pattern starts, you will see cloud movement to the NE. At the same time the storm base itself is moving SE with its middle to upper levels moving off to the NE. The horizonal shear of the wind patterns must've made the storm cell to look concave lens shaped. And some clouds added to the shape, making it all looks circular.

I probably don't make much sense do I? I don't remember too much about what the terrain of the Denver area metro looks like, but I remember a large lake to the SE of Denver. Am I not correct? Perhaps some cool air pooling in that area that lifted up and caused the swirl of clouds that caused the "super-cell' look-alike pattern on radar??

Where is that Weather Nerd guy? We need him to give a local perspective on this thing.

 

[Tony Laubach]

First of all, thanks to Larry for the heads up on this.. I was working my pizza-driving job this day, so I was not able to get in on this..

This radar loop is incredible.. I've never seen anything like that before here in Denver. I've emailed a couple guys from the NWS here in Denver about that and asked their opinion. When I heaar back from them, I'll drop the email in here. My guess would be is association with the Denver Cyclone which sets up often and produces a counter-clockwise mini-low near the Denver area. Geographical features aid in this development. I'm thinking that perhaps the complex of storms (which dumped copious amounts of rain up north) fed directly from this and took on the circulation which may have been abnormally strong that day. Hard to say, though.. just an undergraduate-in-profess hypothesis! :wink: