April 2009
The Rear-Flank Downdraft (RFD) Clear Slot
On myfirst chase of 2009, March 23rd, I intercepted a small supercellthunderstorm near Kingman, KS. This storm, albeit small, revealedinteresting supercell structure as it tracked north toward CheneyReservoir. A nebulous wall cloud is also seen here in this image on thecyclonic shear side of the RFD clear slot. Details of this image: NikonD3 body, 22mm focal length, 1/5000s @ f/3.2, ISO 200.
It was a very photogenic storm! We stopped at the Cheney exit off 400 but after seeing your shot, I wish we followed it for a few more miles. I really enjoyed your insights to the potential cold core setup yesterday and as always, great photos! Btw, where do you get that RUC imagery? Is it public? Looked around on Wxcaster but couldnt find it.
Comment by Sean Mullins — April 10, 2009 @ 4:05 pm
Hi Sean, the small LP storms like this tend to be quite photogenic indeed. It didn’t do much after this image as it weakened while continuing rapidly northeast. Those RUC graphics are from http://www.arl.noaa.gov/ready/cmet.html. It’s an interactive site and you can zoom into any region you want to interrogate a number of model fields for RUC, NAM, and even 3-hourly GFS!
Comment by Mike U — April 10, 2009 @ 4:19 pm