Storm Spotting

Thunderstorm Activity in Oklahoma

Figure 1. Map of storm spotting on April 19, 2023[1, 2, 3]. 

Figure 2. Radar reflectivity via NOAA Weather and Climate Toolkit indicating line of sight towards large tornado spotted in observation 5 on April 19, 2023[1, 2, 3]. 

Figure 3. Radar radial velocity via NOAA Weather and Climate Toolkit indicating line of sight towards large tornado spotted in observation 5 on April 19, 2023[1, 2, 3]. 

Figure 4. Radar correlation coefficient via NOAA Weather and Climate Toolkit indicating line of sight towards large tornado spotted in observation 5 on April 19, 2023[1, 2, 3]. 

Figure 5. Quick sketch of mesoscale high and low, boundaries, and whether air was rising or sinking, near the surface. Sketch is based on the aggregate of (mostly not typed up, but recalled from memory) observations of the supercell thunderstorm that spawned the large tornado in the line of sight of observation 5. My sketch differs from other supercell diagrams that I am aware of in that I have chosen to indicate a dryline along the left margin of the hook echo; I positioned this boundary ahead of the storm's trailing cold front. The source for dryness (and warmth) here was sinking, cloud-free air on the backside of the storm's mesocyclone; which was ahead of cool air being generated by precipitation in the core of the storm, behind the trailing cold front. To make the image, I modified the original color table of the image in fig. 2 to "slate" (most photo editors have something similar), and then overlaid mesoscale features using Front Painter[1, 2, 3]. 

Figure 6. Radar reflectivity animation via NOAA Weather and Climate Toolkit, with overlain observation points removed to reduce clutter. The animation here echoes the progression of the supercell thunderstorm that spawned the large tornado spotted in observation 5 on April 19, 2023[1, 2, 3]. Note: there was a supercell thunderstorm that passed through the area shown about an hour or so earlier (observations 1-4); that storm is not echoed here, however.