Too Pretty

I had to grab this picture, processed from the National Weather Service Doppler radar out of Dodge City, KS.

Kansas has been hot with violent weather this spring. This impressive line of supercell thunderstorms produces several tornadoes, widespread nickel-to-golfball-size hail and winds of 80 mph.

The white arrows represent the direction of a relentless 20-30 mph wind, pumping moist air into the convective system. The purple arrows represent a stiff wind caused by an expanding pool of rain-cooled air knows as outflow. The two airmasses converge along the gust front, which shows up beautifully as a ribbon of blue.

The yellow arrows show where humid air is being accelerated into a rotating updraft. Note how the gust front curls into the supercell. You can see how the precipitation twists around the mesocyclone. Note the curl of purple (large hail) embedded within the deeper reds (hail and blinding rain). The white circle is where everything comes together, and where you would find funnel clouds or a tornado.