at 7:19 PM by Pierce Larkin

Kansas Supercell Drops Several Tornadoes

Last evening across western Kansas, a monster supercell formed and slowly moved northward. This storm formed along a boundary interaction with the dryline to form this, and other, supercells.

The visible satellite image right before the storm exploded upwards. h/t UCAR Archive
The visible satellite image right before the storm exploded upwards. h/t UCAR Archive

This was an absolute beast, and produced upwards of a dozen tornadoes as reported by some chasers on the storm. Because of its relative isolation, this storm became the chaser hub. Twitter blew up with tweets of the Kansas Supercell greatness, and Dodge City even began to trend for a little bit.

What was behind this storm, though? Well, a lot of things, actually. The boundary layer environment was very warm and moist, leading to an extremely unstable environment. CAPE values were in the 4000 j/kg range by last evening, which was plenty high enough to support a storm of this magnitude.

These were the surface conditions right before the Kansas Supercell initiated. The dotted line is a dryline bulge. h/t SPC
These were the surface conditions right before the Kansas Supercell initiated. The dotted line is a dryline bulge. h/t SPC
The rap analyzed CAPE right before the Kansas Supercell took off. 4000 j/kg of CAPE is a significant amount of instability. h/t SPC
The rap analyzed CAPE right before the Kansas Supercell took off. 4000 j/kg of CAPE is a significant amount of instability. h/t SPC

The storm formed along a dryline bulge, which is just a point of initiation for severe thunderstorms. At these points, surface moisture convergence is highest, and this is favorable for storms to develop. Additionally, this storm formed almost exactly at the point where the outflow boundary left from storms to the southeast and the dryline intersected. This resulted in an intense Kansas supercell forming.

A quick surface analysis of the conditions prior to the supercell initiating show the dryline bulge well, with the bulge intersecting the outflow boundary. This enhanced upward motion into an improving shear profile. h/t UCAR Archive
A quick surface analysis of the conditions prior to the supercell initiating show the dryline bulge well, with the bulge intersecting the outflow boundary. This enhanced upward motion into an improving shear profile. h/t UCAR Archive

The storm went up into a favorable shear profile that just got even better in the lower levels as the evening progressed forwards. This allowed for the storm to continue producing tornadoes even after the circulation would reform, and the storm would cycle through again and again for a couple of hours. Additionally, the discrete nature of this system and slow storm motion vectors allowed for the storm to sit alone in an unstable and increasingly sheared profile.

This is the RAP analyzed Hodograph from last evening across the region. A hodograph is essentially just a look at the vertical wind profile on a graph. The more curved, and large the curve is, the better. As you can see, the curve enlarges and becomes more curved to the right as well, indicating an enhanced shear profile as the evening progressed. h/t Bufkit
This is the RAP analyzed Hodograph from last evening across the region. A hodograph is essentially just a look at the vertical wind profile on a graph. The more curved, and large the curve is, the better. As you can see, the curve enlarges and becomes more curved to the right as well, indicating an enhanced shear profile as the evening progressed. h/t Bufkit
The radar loop of the storm last evening. h/t NWS Archive Radar data and GRLevel2
The velocity loop of the storm last evening. h/t NWS Archive Radar data and GRLevel2

All of this combined to create one monstrous Kansas supercell. It was almost unbelievable to watch unfold. Unfortunately, the storm did impact some structures just outside of the Dodge City downtown, but it avoided directly hitting Dodge City, and that is definitely a plus. As was stated previously, the storm became chaser central last evening, and there were hundreds of pics posted on Twitter. Check some out!

Keep the families that took a direct strike from this tornado in your thoughts and prayers as I’m sure today hasn’t been easy for them. The atmosphere is amazing and destructive all at the same time, and it is humbling to see a storm like this produce tornado after tornado after tornado within a short amount of time.