What WAS that I saw, Fri. eve., April 30, NW of Denver, from I-76 & 96th Ave?

[Carol Sidofsky]

Hi all!

This last Friday evening, April 30, 2010, I was driving northeast of Denver, going NE on I-76, looking for & at some very interesting weather.

When I got up to around 96th Ave, I looked northwest, and noticed a very unusual looking storm, between myself and the foothills. Mesmerized, I pulled over onto the shoulder, as soon as I could, (thinking, "What IS that?") and started taking pictures using my new cell phone (Motorola Barrage). Sorry for the grainy texture. Next time I'll remember to bring my regular digital camera with me.

I've "attached" some photos in this email (first emailed to myself from my cell phone, then "saved" to "my documents", and then made into attachments.).

I would greatly appreciate your thoughts about what the heck I was seeing!

It looked to my "newbie" eyes, like a hybrid of tiny wet microbursts and mammae clouds and a dust storm all combined, but I need your expert opinion. It didn't seem like regular virga. At first, there were huge sausage-shaped descending clouds curving like hands on either side of a large sphere. Later on, I could see the shape of the entire storm.

I took a total of 22 photos, and would like to share 11 (the best ones) of these here, in chronological order. Interesting metamorphosis. These "attachments" to this email, are labeled Photos No. 1, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, and 22 (total of half of the 22 photos I took).
This "little?" intense storm was going full tilt, just before sunset, during sunset, and was persistently still raging after it was almost totally dark!

I've included 5 of the 11 photos (Numbers 1, 5, 6, 8, 9), in this message, and will add more attachments (I'm limited to 5 per message) in next message.

Thanks in advance for any help you all can give me, in helping me to know what exactly I was seeing!

Sincerely,

Carol Sidofsky
970-531-5000 cell
[email protected]

 

[Carol Sidofsky]

next 5 photos (3 will be in next message)

Here are the next 5 photos, called Numbers 10, 11, 14, 15, 16:

I'll put in just 3 more photos, in next message.

Carol
970-531-5000
[email protected]

 

[Carol Sidofsky]

Last 3 photos, for you all to help me diagnose stuff:

Here are the last 3 photos (I call these numbers 20, 21 & 22) of the total of 22 that I took with my new cell phone (Motorola Barrage).

I'll take my regular digital camera with me next time (has a little better capability).

So, what do you all think I was seeing around sunset just this last Friday?

Thanks in advance! Ask me questions, if anything is unclear.

That storm was persistent, seemed powerful, but I just don't know for sure what I was seeing there. Need your help.

Carol
970-531-5000
[email protected]

 

[Andrew Ryan]

It's hard to tell what's going on in the pictures since they're pretty blurry. But from what I can tell, it just looks like a normal storm that has some scud underneath it. I can't see any evidence of a microburst.

 

[Jason Boggs]

It's hard to tell what's going on in the pictures since they're pretty blurry. But from what I can tell, it just looks like a normal storm that has some scud underneath it. I can't see any evidence of a microburst.

I agree...just your regular old garden variety t-storm with some scud underneath. I also can't see evidence of a microburst at all.

 

[Mike Peregrine]

I remember seeing something that appeared nearly identical to this here in KC a few years ago (I've always kicked myself for not taking pictures, because it was really interesting). There was low stratus, and condensation vents rising from the ground that were attached to it all over the place. It's a strange-looking phenomenon, and I'm not sure if it has a name, but I would think it might be related to a fog type of mechanism.

 

[John Farley]

I think you have snow or graupel falling part way to the ground, then melting and/or changing to rain. The evaporational cooling might also be leading to localized outflow/downburst winds kicking up dust. Storms with this appearance are quite common in New Mexico in the spring, when temperatures are lower than later in the summer when you get rain from the cloud base level, and also when the dewpoints are quite low, causing some of the precipitation to evaporate before reaching the ground. I would think the conditions would be similar in Colorado this time of year. What you see near the ground is probably some combination of rain or graupel (or a mix of the two) illuminated by the sun and dust being kicked up by the outflow wind.

 

[Karla Dorman]

No matter what it is, it makes for neat pictures! Thanks for sharing. =]

 

[Allan Jeffers]

I seen that while heading up 56th near Tower. Very interesting. I thought perhaps it may be a macro burst because the way the rain shaft spread out at the bottom. I could be wrong, but it was neat to see. I should have pulled out my camera

 

[Adam Adkins]

I see stuff like this all the time along the front range. It may be Virga. I think it is more likely either downsloping behind the storm off of the mountains or downdrafts pushing the back of the storm close to the ground.

 

[Carol Sidofsky]

Andrew and Jason: I wish I could have included FULL SIZE photos here, instead of just "thumbnails" (sorry for the blurred photos) so that you could see why I didn't think this was just a regular old thunderstorm! It was different looking from what I usually see with T-storms. I think there was some virga, and maybe some scud clouds, but those unusual, curving, giant, almost vertical sausage-like clouds, going almost to the ground that I saw, really looked different from anything I've ever seen before.

Mike: Wow! Neat that you've seen this kind of phenomenon before in Kansas City, MO! Hope there IS a name for this. What exactly is a "condensation vent"? Maybe I wasn't close enough to see "rising", but it almost had a look of an approaching dust storm, too. Very active, and yes, very interesting! In one of the photos (7th photo in upper right corner), I saw a couple of unusual "ring"/donut shaped clouds higher up, and I noticed at the time that some of the sausage-like clouds almost looked like the "Michelin man" cartoon tire guy in ads on TV (layer upon layer)--which you can see in the 4th & 6th photos, looking at the left-most descending cloud.

John: Thanks! Your explanation about possible snow & graupel makes a lot of sense to me! You wrote: "I think you have snow or graupel falling part way to the ground, then melting and/or changing to rain. The evaporational cooling might also be leading to localized outflow/downburst winds kicking up dust. Storms with this appearance are quite common in New Mexico in the spring, when temperatures are lower than later in the summer when you get rain from the cloud base level, and also when the dewpoints are quite low, causing some of the precipitation to evaporate before reaching the ground. I would think the conditions would be similar in Colorado this time of year. What you see near the ground is probably some combination of rain or graupel (or a mix of the two) illuminated by the sun and dust being kicked up by the outflow wind." Is there an actual name for this phenomenon?

Karla: Thank you! I was in awe of what I was seeing! Have to bring the camera next time!

Allan: Neat! I'm glad that you saw the same amazing thing I saw, at the same time I did, this last Friday evening! You and John both mentioned "downburst", which seems to be part of this phenomenon.

Adam: Interesting that you recognized this type of look, of that storm, as being common! I live up in the mountains, so I don't always get to see what you do, in the Front Range. Downsloping off the mountains, or downdrafts in the storm, sounds plausible. I think there was some virga, but also other stuff going on. It was one of the most unusual things I've ever seen, and it kept going & going (like the Energizer bunny), while changing, too. I wonder if anyone was actually IN THAT STORM, or closer than I was, who could tell us what they saw going on, right there!

Carol Sidofsky
970-531-5000
[email protected]