5/8/19 | Altus, OK

Enhanced Risk

This day began with some uncertainty, as the atmosphere had been somewhat washed out from convection the day before. There were two clear options; one well to the south and east in Eastern Texas and parts of Arkansas, and another in Oklahoma. The environment over Eastern Texas and Arkansas was far superior to the one in Oklahoma for tornadoes, but we decided to stay in Oklahoma due to logistics and chase terrain.

The day played out rather quietly as the airmass was overturned and the atmosphere needed time to recover. Sufficient wind shear was present for supercells, and after some instability developed later in the afternoon, storms did form. Structure improved as we moved closer to sunset.

The tornado potential was largely negated by meager low level cape and somewhat weaker shear in the lowest 1km. That being said, the degree of mid level wind shear and turning led to beautiful supercell structures. We caught a few on the edge of an old outflow boundary, and the storms quickly took on an amazing shape.

As the evening went on, instability began to wane and storms became elevated. We did not see a tornado on this day, but it was an beautiful chase day with great structure, a beautiful sunset, and an early evening lightning show to close things out.