how rare are super cell thunderstorms in tornado ally?
Sep 06, 2010
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Tornado Questions
How rare are they? How can you tell the difference between a supercell and a regular thunderstorm besides tornadoes? Also how dangerous is storm chasing and spotting if you know what you’re doing? from a 1- 10 scale.
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3 comments
cyswxman on September 6, 2010 at 11:41 am
Actually not all that rare. Only a small percentage of supercell thunderstorms produce tornadoes. They are not easy to distinguish by looking at them, though some may have a sort of corkscrew appearance on their backsides where the updraft is located. Supercell storms do have a tendency to produce large hail in the absence of tornadoes.
Storm chasing is relatively safe if indeed you know what you are doing, and how to keep yourself out of danger and have escape routes if needed.
Elexus on September 6, 2010 at 11:41 am
dont know ask some one who knows
TJ on September 6, 2010 at 11:41 am
Actually, it is just the opposite. Super cell thunderstorms are quite common in "Tornado Alley". But, it is somewhat rare for a super cell thunderstorm to produce a tornado. It is even rarer for a super cell to produce a EF4 or EF5 tornado.
You can usually tell the difference by the cloud structure. Regular thunderstorms will have the tall, towering clouds and sometimes will take the shape of an anvil. A super cell will often have a pronounced over shooting top. This signifies a very strong updraft. Another clue is the bands or striations seen on the outside of the cloud. This signifies a mesocyclone storm. The whole storm (cloud) is rotating. Super cell storms often have large amounts of large hail, very heavy rainfall and downbusts.
Storm chasing can be very dangerous if you do not know what you’re doing and what you’re getting into. There have been numerous chasers who have found themselves "punching the core" (driving through the center of the storm in blinding rain or dangerous hail, on ly to find themselves right in the middle of a tornado. Spotting is a different story. Spotting is being stationary and observing the weather/storms. If you know what you’re doing, On a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being dangerous, I’d say it depends on the storm, your knowledge, network of roads, and safety.