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Severe Weather 2021

Equus

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Yikes

IMG_20210506_185527256.jpg
 

Equus

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Had 40-50mph gusts and it's still windy. Almost no rain. Leaves and twigs were sailing way above my head and I heard some branches break in the distance.

Dropped the temperature immensely; it's COLD behind the gust front!
 

Flyboy70

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Are we looking at a wind, hail, and rain event today or is there enough twist in the atmosphere to make it a tornado threat day?

ETA - This is the NAM 21k in the Memphis area.

View attachment 9538
I'm heading out in a few minutes from the Shoals area in NW Alabama toward the Hway 72 Corridor in N Mississippi. I'll make a W/N/S decision based on radar and wind profiles from along the HWAY 45 corridor in Corinth, Ms. The lack of CINH, SRH over 300, and sfc CAPE over 2500 should make for some interesting conditions. Not expecting much TBH but we'll see. Lots of ingredients on the countertop but we'll have to wait and see if they all get in the pot at the same time.
 

WhirlingWx

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Might have been a pretty substantial tornado that occurred north of Memphis not too long ago... I wasn't at my laptop at the time but it seems like MEG did not warn it until after it already caused damage (yknow, I'm not one to typically criticize pro mets, but this is something that has happened multiple time with this particular office). I just hope nobody was seriously injured.
 

Flyboy70

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Might have been a pretty substantial tornado that occurred north of Memphis not too long ago... I wasn't at my laptop at the time but it seems like MEG did not warn it until after it already caused damage (yknow, I'm not one to typically criticize pro mets, but this is something that has happened multiple time with this particular office). I just hope nobody was seriously injured.
Was that the warning for Mason, Tn just off of I-40? I was on that storm and it went from radar indicated to EMA confirmed but I never saw any damage in the area nor did I see any first responders heading that way.
 

WhirlingWx

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Was that the warning for Mason, Tn just off of I-40? I was on that storm and it went from radar indicated to EMA confirmed but I never saw any damage in the area nor did I see any first responders heading that way.
There was definitely a tornado and damage, but I don't think it was as bad as it initially seemed (I've only seen trees down and limited structural damage and it's been like 4 hours since then so we probably don't have too much new to see).

On that note, how many pink reflectivity debris balls have we seen for EF1s in the past 7 days? This is definitely something that is probably going to put me on pause the next time that I try to assess tornado strength based on radar (which, of course, I've known is imperfect, but I had generally expected in the past that reflectivity debris balls typically occur with EF2+ tornadoes). Some of these tornadoes in question have had tight couplets on radar, though of course not the really significant couplets of the type we saw on 3/25, for example. I think we had another case like this earlier this year near Smithville, MS (can't remember the date), with a pink reflectivity debris ball but the tornado only producing EF0-EF1 damage. Obviously, beam height/distance from radar can affect the radar presentation, but still.
 
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Flyboy70

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There was definitely a tornado and damage, but I don't think it was as bad as it initially seemed (I've only seen trees down and limited structural damage and it's been like 4 hours since then so we probably don't have too much new to see).

On that note, how many pink reflectivity debris balls have we seen for EF1s in the past 7 days? This is definitely something that is probably going to put me on pause the next time that I try to assess tornado strength based on radar (which, of course, I've known is imperfect, but I had generally expected in the past that reflectivity debris balls typically occur with EF2+ tornadoes). Some of these tornadoes in question have had tight couplets on radar, though of course not the really significant couplets of the type we saw on 3/25, for example. I think we had another case like this earlier this year near Smithville, MS (can't remember the date), with a pink reflectivity debris ball but the tornado only producing EF0-EF1 damage. Obviously, beam height/distance from radar can affect the radar presentation, but still.
Just to be clear, I wasn't disputing the reports. Just stating that I, personally, did not observe it. I was a little late on arrival as I had to turn around after already choosing to venture further south for lightning photos in more open terrain.
 
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