Severe weather across the Deep South

By Scott Bachmeier • 19 March 2018

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images, with airport identifiers plotted in yellow and SPC storm reports plotted in red [click to play MP4 animation]

Thunderstorms developing in the warm sector of a low pressure system (surface analyses) produced tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds (SPC storm reports) across parts of the Deep South late in the day and into the night on 19 March 2018. GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images at 30-second intervals (above) showed numerous overshooting tops associated with this cluster of supercell convection.

In the corresponding GOES-16 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm) images (below), cloud-top infrared brightness temperatures of some overshooting tops were around -70 ºC (black enhancement).

GOES-16 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm) images, with airport identifiers plotted in yellow and SPC storm reports plotted in cyan [click to play MP4 animation]

Note that the EF-3 tornado that damaged the Jacksonville State University area in Alabama around 0135 UTC was the first EF-3 in 306 days — a new record.

UPDATE/CORRECTED: the damage survey continues, and based on an assessment of structures in the vicinity of Jacksonville State University the tornado intensity has been UPGRADED to an EF-3 with winds around 140mph.

— NWS Birmingham (@NWSBirmingham) March 20, 2018

After 306 consecutive days without an F3/EF3+ tornado in the United States, the remarkable drought has come to an end. This is the longest such streak since NOAA records began in the 1950s. pic.twitter.com/gPPqGWRTYP

— Steve Bowen (@SteveBowenWx) March 20, 2018

Additional animations are available on the Satellite Liaison Blog.

Categories: GOES-16, Severe convection

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Severe weather across the Deep South