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Severe thunderstorms produce tornadoes and hail as large as 6.00″ in diameter across northern Illinois

By Scott Bachmeier •

1-minute GOES-19 Visible and Infrared images, with time-matched (+/- 3 minutes) SPC Storm Reports plotted in red/white, from 2055-2335 UTC on 10 March [click to play animated GIF]

1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-19 (GOES-East) Visible and Infrared images (above) with time-matched plots of SPC Storm Reports showed thunderstorms produced several tornadoes and numerous reports of hail — most notably, as large as 6.00″ in diameter at 2330 UTC. If verified, that would be the largest hailstone on record for the state of Illinois (NWS Chicago).

1-minute GOES-19 Visible images, with/without an overlay of GLM Flash Points, from 1926-2335 UTC on 10 March [click to play MP4 animation]

1-minute GOES-19 Visible images (above) and Infrared images (below) included an overlay of GLM Flash Points, which showed abundant lightning activity with these severe thunderstorms.

1-minute GOES-19 Infrared images, with/without an overlay of GLM Flash Points, from 1926 UTC on 10 March to 0435 UTC on 11 March [click to play MP4 animation]

A toggle between GOES-19 Visible and Infrared images at 2100 UTC (below) showed an orphan anvil that was drifting to the northeast (located just north of the Chicago NWS forecast office, identifier KLOT) — which had developed around 2030 UTC, as the boundary layer convective cap was beginning to erode just north of a cold front.

GOES-19 Visible and Infrared images at 2100 UTC on 10 March, showing an orphan anvil over northern Illinois [click to enlarge]

A toggle between GOES-19 Visible and Infrared images at 2259 UTC (below) displayed well-defined Enhanced-V and Above-Anvil Cirrus Plume signatures, extending downwind (eastward) from a prominent overshooting top (cluster of darker black infrared pixels, exhibiting brightness temperatures as cold as -72C) over northeast Illinois.

GOES-19 Visible and Infrared images at 2259 UTC on 10 March, showing an Above-Anvil Cirrus Plume extending eastward across Illinois and Indiana [click to enlarge]

Categories: GLM, GOES-19, Lightning, Severe convection