3/8/10 Low Topped Supercells in Oklahoma

Submitted by L.B. on Tue, 03/09/2010 - 15:22

A rather interesting day yesterday in Oklahoma. Was not really expecting to see tornadoes, but nonetheless, mother nature pulled through to amaze us, and drop a fairly long tracked tornado. Chasers were out and about yesterday, and quite a few witnessed the tornadoes that ripped through Hammon, OK. Congratulations to those who bagged their first tornadoes of the 2010 season!

This is the 12z Amarillo, TX sounding, about 115 miles west of Hammon, OK. Some pretty steep lapse rates are shown in the low, and mid levels of the atmosphere. Also note the equilibrium level at about 8km, or 30k ft. Most storms usually push well into the 40-50k ft range, and this is why yesterdays storm was referred to as a "low topped" supercell.

Here is a graphic from the SPC Mesoanalysis site, which is overlaying dewpoint temps, along with H5-H7 lapse rates. Dewpoints were relatively low, at about 48-52 F, but steep lapse rates were in place over western Oklahoma.

This is a RUC forecast sounding for Hammon, OK at 0z, about the time the tornado hit. Shaded in yellow is the CAPE. The 0-3km CAPE was about 100 J/kg. Veered winds are also shown just to the right of the sounding.

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2010 Chase Stats

Chases: 15
Busts: 3
Miles: 11,046
Average Miles Per Chase: ~736
Farthest Target: Pierre, SD
Waterspouts: -
Tornadoes: 16
Biggest Hail Encountered: 1"
Highest Wind Gust: 80mph
States Chased: MO, IA, IL, AR, MS, TN, OH, IN, SD, MN, MI

Chase Dates: 4/5, 4/6, 4/30, 5/1, 5/7, 5/13, 5/22, 6/4, 6/5, 6/15, 6/17, 6/18, 6/23, 7/15, 7/18

2009 Chase Stats

Chases: 7
Busts: 1
Miles: 3322
Average Miles Per Chase: 475
Farthest Target: Kirksville, MO
Waterspouts: 0
Tornadoes: 1
Biggest Hail Encountered: 1/4"
Highest Wind Gust: 50mph
States: MI, IL, IA, MO, OH, IN