Of course, the purpose of this chase wasn't to find a tornado but to do some field testing. That said, it would have been nice to bag one of the large tornadoes in northern Kansas such as the one below.
Tomorrow still looks like a major severe weather event. Please stay tuned.
How do they determine F-rating on tornadoes that stay in open fields? Since wind speed is usually determined by damage sustained (from my understanding) - in areas where there are open fields and damage cannot be assessed, how do they determine the tornado rating? Seems like the one near Cunningham yesterday just spun itself in one place for quite awhile, which would also be different damage than a quickly-moving tornado.
If there is a mobile Doppler, they can use those winds as they did for Wichita's tornadoes a week ago Sunday. Mobile Dopplers are near the large tornadoes a surprisingly large percent of the time these days.
The forecast path of the center of Hilary has shifted a bit to the west. This increases the threat to the Southland, especially in terms of flooding. Rainfall Note the heavy rains are forecast for Los Angeles County. Serious flash flooding may result. Because the forecast path has shifted to the west, that increases the threat of serious flooding in Los Angeles County north into Yosemite and the southern Sierra. It lessens the threat in Utah and western Arizona. While the threat of widespread flooding in Utah and Arizona lessens, note that some thunderstorms with localized heavy rain show up on the map. In Nevada, the more western path increases the risk of serious flooding around Mt Charleston and into the central part of the state. Here is the updated (9am PDT) flash flood risk map. Wind There are already about 40,000 people without power in California, mostly in the center of the state. The maps above are the peak gusts forecasted with the storm. The highest winds, in general,
-- Note, more current info available. Scroll up. --- Updated Information as of 8am PDT You are risking your life if you attempt to travel through the purple area. While the rain has not begun in coastal California, I would urge you to use this time to make any preparations. Power outages have occurred already in southeast California. Here is the latest radar as of 7:55am PDT. As of 6:40am PDT , the radar indicates moderate to heavy rain falling over desert areas of Southern California and far western Arizona (click to enlarge). Rainfall amounts for the 24 hours ending at 7am PDT show more than two inches have already fallen. There are reports from reliable sources that roads are already washed out and that people are stranded in isolated parts of the desert. Below is a high-resolution computer model's rainfall forecast from 5am PDT to 11pm PDT Sunday. More than a foot of additional rain is forecast to fall. This will lead to catastrophic flooding. Here is a map of current watc
There was at least one tornado and at least one funnel cloud yesterday. --- original forecast --- Hilary (the swirly symbol) continues to move NNW paralleling the coast of Baja California, Mexico. The area outlined in red has a significant risk of tornadoe s the rest of the afternoon. Below is a list of peak wind gusts so far. Peak winds may increase farther north as the afternoon progresses. Addition at 12 noon PDT: Sure enough, winds have increased. Note: If you are in the San Diego area, I recommend not traveling east on I-8. Heavy rains may cause flash flooding that will involve the highway.
On the other hand, a spring drive thru the beautiful Gyp Hills is always worth a trip.
ReplyDeleteLove the Gyp Hills.
ReplyDeleteAny preliminary data on the Bennington area tornado? It sure looked like a monster on radar and in the social media photos I've seen.
ReplyDeleteNo. NWS hasn't looked at it yet.
ReplyDeleteHow do they determine F-rating on tornadoes that stay in open fields? Since wind speed is usually determined by damage sustained (from my understanding) - in areas where there are open fields and damage cannot be assessed, how do they determine the tornado rating? Seems like the one near Cunningham yesterday just spun itself in one place for quite awhile, which would also be different damage than a quickly-moving tornado.
ReplyDeleteIf there is a mobile Doppler, they can use those winds as they did for Wichita's tornadoes a week ago Sunday. Mobile Dopplers are near the large tornadoes a surprisingly large percent of the time these days.
ReplyDelete