Tornado outbreak in Barcelona, Spain

[Marko Korosec]

Hi guys!

It seems there were at least 17 tornadoes reported in that area on 7th September! :shock:

Here are few links with more photos and also videos:
- SpainSevereWeather
- http://fryz.forumactif.com/ftopic741.3-tor...17-tornades.htm

Maybe can Pedro C. Fernández tell us more about this event. :wink:

Best regards,
Marko

 

[Rockwell Schrock]

Oh my God. It's not often that you see tornado pictures from a higher elevation. It really gives you some perspective on it.

Wow.

 

[Andrew Khan]

That shot above, is really awsome. It looks great since it is looking 'down' on the tornado, more or less. That's true, there really isn't 'too' much stuff like this in that area, but stuff ALWAYS can happen. That shot I still have to say is sweet. Look at that funnel structure near the mountains! I hope no one was injured, though...

 

[Andrew Khan]

Check out these shot, though!

This may be a bit off topic, but the first picture I posted, how come it looks like the end of the funnel, is jagged looking, like it's 3 seperated segments?

 

[nickgrillo]

Originally posted by Andrew Khan
This may be a bit off topic, but the first picture I posted, how come it looks like the end of the funnel, is jagged looking, like it's 3 seperated segments?

Multiple vorticies....

 

[Andrew Khan]

Look at all of those pileus on the storm tower, it's giving the clouds a smooth look! I've never seen so many...it must be towering extremely high or it's just breaking through a lot of caps.

I've never seen so much convection. Was it a supercell, or just a thunderstorm/squall line, that produced so many tornadoes?

Why is this airplane going to fly through a possible supercell?! Why would they do that?! I'd say there was a lot of turbulence......just look at all of that explosive convection..

 

[Andrew Khan]

Originally posted by nickgrillo+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nickgrillo)</div>

<!--QuoteBegin-Andrew Khan

This may be a bit off topic, but the first picture I posted, how come it looks like the end of the funnel, is jagged looking, like it's 3 seperated segments?

Multiple vorticies....[/b]

Well, I should have known that. Thanks for answering my question, Nick.

 

[nickgrillo]

Originally posted by Andrew Khan
Look at all of those pileus on the storm tower, it's giving the clouds a smooth look! I've never seen so many...it must be towering extremely high or it's just breaking through a lot of caps.

I've never seen so much convection. Was it a supercell, or just a thunderstorm/squall line, that produced so many tornadoes?

Why is this airplane going to fly through a possible supercell?! Why would they do that?! I'd say there was a lot of turbulence......just look at all of that explosive convection..

Well, pileus caps are made up of ice crystals, as they form above rising convection, and make the "dome" shape... The layer above the convective tower can't be dry or pileus won't form. Given this is Spain, I would imagine it was pretty humid out... And the atmosphere sure as heck had to be pretty moist for all those storms to generate.

 

[Andrew Khan]

Nick, are you stating that these are not pileus? They have to be..

 

[Jeff Snyder]

Originally posted by nickgrillo+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nickgrillo)</div>

<!--QuoteBegin-Andrew Khan

This may be a bit off topic, but the first picture I posted, how come it looks like the end of the funnel, is jagged looking, like it's 3 seperated segments?

Multiple vorticies....[/b]

I'm not so sure... I remember there was very good video last year or two years ago of a tornado that looked to have a tube inside of a tube. In other words, the other condensation was like a sheth to an inner condensation tube. Now that I think about it, it may have been a tornado from 6-24 South Dakota outbreak. So, it wasn't so much multiple vortices, but rather a condensation tube inside another, more transparent outer tube. I have no idea of the physics / fluid dynamics involved in such a process, but I've seen it before. The first pic in Andrew's post looks more like that, and not so much like individual, distinct vortices.

 

[nickgrillo]

Originally posted by Andrew Khan+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Andrew Khan)</div>

Nick, are you stating that these are not pileus? They have to be..[/b]

No, they are most definitely pileus... I was just expanding on your post.

<!--QuoteBegin-Jeff Snyder
I'm not so sure... I remember there was very good video last year or two years ago of a tornado that looked to have a tube inside of a tube. In other words, the other condensation was like a sheth to an inner condensation tube. Now that I think about it, it may have been a tornado from 6-24 South Dakota outbreak. So, it wasn't so much multiple vortices, but rather a condensation tube inside another, more transparent outer tube. I have no idea of the physics / fluid dynamics involved in such a process, but I've seen it before. The first pic in Andrew's post looks more like that, and not so much like individual, distinct vortices.

Well, you could indeed be right about that. As for that look, the 4/10/05 tornadoes from the "cold-core" event in KS had the same appearance...

( http://www.windsweptchasetours.com/2005_Ap...il_10%20007.jpg )

 

[HAltschule]

I was thinking the same thing before I read your post, Jeff. There's no doubt that this is just rapid condensation occurring around the tornado itself. If you look at the next picture, you will see that the whole area filled in as condensation continued. The result was a nice elephants trunk and much better defined tornado (much thicker) in next picture.

Multiple vortices are not usually 'that' close to the main vortex and not usually that symmetrical. As you know, they usually dance around the tornado a little bit further away from the main vortex itself. My vote is for the occurrence of condensation in the tornado which increased its size. Just my opinion. But SPECTACULAR photos nonetheless.

 

[Andrea Griffa]

Ehi Marko I didn't see your post!!

 

[Andrew Khan]

I still am not quite sure about all of the little edges of it, I've come to believe it's not actual multiple vorticies, but still, it's quite confusing...

 

[Pedro C. Fernández]

Talking about that event yet, I have to say in Cazatormentas.Net we are working hard to collect a lot of information, photographs and videos of tornadoes of Barcelona. You could find it in our web very soon.

In the other hand, another waterspout was chased yesterday in Mallorca. You could find two photographs about this new phenomenon in the follow link:

http://www.cazatormentas.net/trombamayorca.html

Photographs courtesy of Juan Morey & Toni Nadal.

It's clear that Mediterranean Sea is a very important factor for the development of this phenomena.