Now THAT is a supercell

Continental Satellite 5/6/07 morning - Img courtesty of GOES satellite



Des Moines radar - 6:40am EST

As Weatherwoof will no doubt correct me, this enhanced satellite image is not, by definition, a single supercell.

However, I love the term - it conveys scale and power. On the satellite image, even Helen Keller could see this rich boil which looks ready to be lanced! This "boil" is a mass of very strong thunderstorms which contains a severe squall line on its eastward side.
In fact if you look at the radar (from Des Moines) below the satellite, you can see a fantastic squall line just ready to hit the west side of Des Moines. Note how the strong squall line bows out in a convex arrangment and the storms are lined up on a north-south axis for hundreds of miles. These squall lines are famous for their ability to throw down tornadoes and produce large, heavy hail and they often have fantastic clouds associated with them that can extend over 50,000 feet into the atmosphere.

The center of the boil on the satellite is an extreme case of very high cloud tops with the greenish/white enhancement. These are serious storms. If it wasn't dark out there, the impending line would be fantastic to see. Also notable is the wind in Des Moines is coming from the East (not the west) - this line is sucking up air from the ground and throwing it high into the atmosphere. Oh how I wish I could be out on the Plains today to see this line.

Also notable, and somewhat unusual, is what is behind this squall line. There are rather significant radar returns. The yellow coloring behind the squall line is moderate to heavy rain and it covers the entire west part of Iowa.

There was significant flooding when I was there last weekend. Additionally, all the fields have been disced and the corn was going to go in soon. Look for higher corn prices.