Welcome to Monday and the start of a much calmer week ahead for us in Kansas. There won't be any severe storms around here through Friday. So we get a chance to catch our breath and maybe catch up on some sleep if storms have kept you up late at night.
I'm showing some storm pictures we received last week from viewers, and they are much appreciated. Storm cloud features can be confusing and sometimes the names we give to the clouds don't always make sense. So I thought I would showcase a few features here that may help you next time identify what's coming your way. They can be so interesting to watch, but of course, very dangerous too.
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| This is a shelf cloud. It extends across the horizon and as it approaches, you will usually get hit with very strong winds. Sometimes the winds can be 50 mph, while other shelf clouds may produce winds up to 90 or 100 mph. Picture courtesy of: Stephanie Page - Rice co. |
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| I've highlighted the rotational features to this thunderstorm. It's not a wall cloud, just a rotating thunderstorm and because there is so much spin to it, the lower hanging clouds exhibit a circular pattern. The arrows are drawn clockwise, but the storm is spinning counterclockwise. This is the bottom of a supercell storm - ones that produce hail and sometimes tornadoes. Picture courtesy of: Walter Savage - Ellsworth |
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| This storm would be moving to the right. The rain free area is what storm chasers and spotters zero in on to watch for tornado formation. That is underneath of the updraft part of the storm where tornadoes usually develop. Picture courtesy of: Lenora Henderson - Ellsworth co. |
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| This picture from near Scott City. There are 3 different tornadoes occurring at one time. They appear to be more landspout type tornadoes (where they don't necessarily form from supercell storms) They can be dangerous and still tear things up, but normally they don't last very long. Picture courtesy of: Eric Hoeme |
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