Are you comfortable with looking at RadarScope data and finding hook echoes and areas of rotation? If so, the next step is to learn how to use dual-polarization products to look for debris being lofted by a tornado. Let’s take a look at how to pick out a Tornado Debris Signature (TDS).
Normally when you hear that there is a drought in Oklahoma, you think of a lack of water, and the vegetation turning brown as it swelters in triple-digit heat. However, there has been a tornado drought in 2018. For a state that averages 62 tornadoes per year, the official numbers through mid-August bring the count to only 23. Needless to say, it’s been a slow one for tornado chasers in Oklahoma this year.
When large hail develops in a thunderstorm, some of the radar beam’s energy observing the hailstone is reflected downward toward the ground, as well as back to the radar. This motion can create an echo known as a Three-Body Scatter Spike (TBSS) or a hail spike.
The release of RadarScope 3.8 has added features that can not only prepare you for the potential for severe weather but can provide more information about storms once they develop. Some of these features include the Day 1 Convective Outlooks and Local Storm Reports, which are available with a RadarScope Pro Tier 2 subscription. Both of these features can be accessed in the Settings menu under Layers.
Severe thunderstorms developed across portions of western Kansas and eastern Colorado on Friday, July 27, 2018. In the midst of these thunderstorms, a persistent line developed, extending from northeast of Stratton, Colorado to southeast of Goodland, Kansas.
