Multi Cellular

[Kyle Soldani]

What would the technical term be for this echo?

I talked with a couple chasers, each of whom had never seen this sort of echo especially the hooks.

 

[Jeff Duda]

Check velocity on that scan. If there was rotation associated with any of them, then there were embedded supercells in a cluster of convection. If none of the cells had rotation, then it would just be a cluster of convective cells.

 

[Kyle Soldani]

Then they were embedded supercells. There wasn't a major velocity return, but it was evident. Thanks.

 

[Paul Townsend]

Hey Kyle,

That is a radar signature consistent with Conditional Symmetric Instability (CSI), otherwise known as "slantwise convection."

I'll let the reader type in the appropriate keywords to search for information on this meteorological condition. Along with knowing the meteorological setup in northeast Kansas last evening, you can then confirm or deny the existence of CSI in this case.

 

[Kyle Soldani]

Thanks Paul, I'll do some research.

 

[Jeff Duda]

Strange, I've never seen CSI be so apparent in the warm season. I thought it was a cool season feature. In this case I would think gravitational instability (i.e., CAPE) would be great enough to mask the appearance of any CSI that might be present.