#2348 "Singleton March Squall Line"

The tops of the low topped supercell thunderstorms were visible just beyond the streets of turbulent stratocumulus. Horizontal tubes of rotation were certainly rolling along with the strong southerly flow. Vortices were being lifted and stretched and revealed by the swirls of clouds. This was the last day for the punky ice in the west basin of Singleton Lake.

Supercell thunderstorms are formed when the convective updraft lifts a horizontal roll into the vertical. One side of the roll spins cyclonically and the other side turns anticyclonically. Try it with a slinky coil to convince yourself that this is true. The thunderstorm splits into two updrafts. Typically the cyclonic updraft on the right flank of the original updraft dominates and turns to the right, intensifying as it does so. I relied on both satellite and radar remote sensing to witness the splitting of the original thunderstorm into two. Supercells are responsible for most severe events and they are the only type of convective storm that does this cell splitting process. People may want to see a tornado before they die, but not just before they die. Remote sensing was my friend.

The clouds always have an interesting tale to tell. We just need to slow down and enjoy the show.

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