Storm Chase 2-11-09

Please note that we are trained professionals and storm chasing should not be done by just anyone. If a storm is nearing please take the appropriate measures of taking shelter in a sturdy structure away from all windows in the central most part of the building. Do not attempt to recreate any of the actions taken by the chasers.

A major wind event occured today in many parts of the southern Great Lakes/Mid Atlantic.

Chase target was Lexington KY as it seemed everything was coming together there, sunny skies, temps topping the upper 60s, dewpoints in the low 50s, cape values 500+ j/kg, nice shear values and LI's around -2. But, we ended up being a half hour late on our departure and adding that to the squall line moving a little faster than anticipated, we were an hour off of our target. So about an hour away, in Maysville KY we stopped to evaluate how things were coming as rain began to fall. This rain really hampered all the surface warming we received. With a look at the radar, an imbedded meso got tor warned just south of our target area that made things really frustrating.

Here are some convective rolls we saw on our way to Maysville:

We decided to head east along the Ohio River in hopes of being hit by the stronger bowing segment of the gust front. We intercepted the gust front just north of Portsmouth and experienced winds of at least 60mph. Debris was flying through the air and the rain hurt on impact to the skin. Once we let it overtake us, we attempted to catch it again but had to go to far north before we could cut east and try to jump out of it and lost it. By then we had stopped monitoring radar and then missed a cell that had developed behind the line around Cincinnati that had great structure and decided to head home.

Here is the gust front approaching us in Portsmouth, OH:

The rain came down in sheets to the west as it approached our location:

We thought that was it but upon reaching Athens we were treated to some amazing low-lying mammatus that were on the backside of the low-topped line of storms. I have never seen mammatus this low in my life. It seemed as if they were right on top of you.

The low mammatus over Athens, OH:
Overall, not bad for a February chase, especially for the Ohio valley. Maybe this means for a promising spring chase season.

Miles Travelled: 250




Christopher Redmond
cr898005@ohio.edu

Darren Snively
ds327305@ohio.edu