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Severe Storm Photography from Spring 2003
All photos copyrighted by Dave Chapman
June 11th: Supercell near Altus, Oklahoma
| After a hot, muggy afternoon (90 degree temperatures and 70 degree dewpoints), a large thunderstorm forms in southwest Oklahoma, a few miles northwest of Altus. As I approach the main storm from the east, I see this new rotating updraft well ahead of the main storm. |
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| Another strong updraft ahead of the main storm. Weak upper level winds and very high CAPE result in widespread convection, which precludes any tornado development. |
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| Rain-free base on the south side of the main storm. A lack of road choices keeps me from getting closer at this point. |
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| As new towers on the southeast merge into the main supercell, I get clipped by golfball-size hail along the southern edge of the storm. The wall cloud on the left is rotating rapidly. Also, I can hear large hailstones banging onto the tin roof of a farm shed a few hundred feet away. |
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| Within a few minutes, cool outflow from the storm undercuts the updraft that was feeding the wall cloud. While I am taking this photo, a stray baseball-size hailstone lands on the road fifty feet away (I retreat to a safer location). |
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| The rain-cooled outflow soon becomes 50 mph northerly winds. |
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2003 Storm Pages:
Dave Chapman's Storm Chasing and Outdoor Photo Galleries