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Title: High Contrast elevated convection & More Rotation! - June 29th Post by: martinastro on June 30, 2011, 07:37:50 pm There was a slight risk of weak thunderstorms over N. Ireland on Wednesday with 400 CAPE and LIs of -1 in a post frontal slack Wly flow with influences from convergence zones expected however nothing happened at all due to lack of strong lift and a cap/inversion stopping vertical growth of towers so it was a no show with no lightning at all. However during the evening there where a few strong hail showers in E areas but nothing much elsewhere so I had pretty much given up on any photo opps. At 20.00 I was in my bedroom on the internet when I glanced out my window to the E and was pleasantly shocked by a fabulous formation of mid level convection. The elevated cloud mass was lit by a low sun from the W which resulted in dramatic high contrast black and white updraught towers which could be seen billowing upward to a very decent height in the atmosphere, this was shocking since peak CAPE time for Maghera was 15.00 however ground heating, cooling cloud tops and mid level instability all contributed to a brief breaking of the cap unexpectantly during this late period.
What shocked me more was the incredible rotation which my Sister and I watched with utter amazement, almost directly over our home in the form of rapid swirling dark clouds with strong rising inflow motion, it was like watching a mixture of thick dark porridge being stirred by a giant unseen hand, the motion really was rather striking and for the second day in a row I felt the adrenalin pumping and entertained the notion that I could be treated to a dramatic mid level funnel cloud, however despite watching over 5 min's of rotation with wide eyed disbelief I didn't get treated to a vortex however the clouds did try really hard to put on a show. I went out to my backyard and took images as the cell slowly drifted to the E of town, I wish I had taken video footage of the dramatic cloud structures however I couldn't do two things at once so I stayed will digital still images... (http://i53.tinypic.com/1zfhdfp.jpg) (http://i54.tinypic.com/2drt64p.jpg) (http://i55.tinypic.com/2hx0dbq.jpg) (http://i53.tinypic.com/3130lue.jpg) Title: Re: High Contrast elevated convection & More Rotation! - June 29th Post by: Anton on June 30, 2011, 10:53:49 pm They look superb Martin, Image 3 & 4 really does capture the motion and the mood of the sky great account too.
Title: Re: High Contrast elevated convection & More Rotation! - June 29th Post by: markt on July 01, 2011, 07:00:32 am Fascinating account and excellent pictures to go with it Martin! |