4/2/2024 Storm Chase: Southeastern Indiana/Far Northern Kentucky

 I drove from Fort Wayne, Indiana south to southeastern Indiana on 4/2/2024 and managed to position myself east of a cluster of messy pseudo-cellular supercellular activity. I targeted a storm that appeared to be anchored to a theta-e gradient that materialized as a result of morning thunderstorm activity. That morning activity really worked over the thermodynamic environment, and probably aided in storm under-performance, as the shear profiles were very supportive of updraft rotation and possible tornadoes. The people of Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio were undoubtedly grateful for the low tornado count that occurred during this event. Otherwise, I followed several supercells east to the Cincinnati airport, and then dropped south along an interstate in order to position for the passage of a strongly rotating storm. That cell yielded rotating rain currents as the RFD blasted across the interstate, but I didn't observe a tornado. It then moved east into unchaseable terrain, with other nearby cells going on to produce several tornadoes just east of my location, including an EF-1 with a 12.8 km pathlength and duration of 11 minutes. I'm continuing to test a tornado pathlength/duration algorithm, and output using a 22Z RAP sounding from the Cincinnati airport yielded a predicted pathlength of 27.6 km and duration of 22.9 minutes. Perhaps the worked over airmass reduced the potential for longer pathlengths?

0.5-deg reflectivity from the KILN radar showing messy supercells advancing east-northeast across northern Kentucky into southern Ohio.

250 mb valid 00 UTC on 03 April 2024. The left exit region of a diffluent 140+ kt jet streak overspread the region of tornadic activity during the afternoon and evening hours.

500 mb valid 00 UTC 03 April 2024. A midlevel shortwave trough with 70+ kt midlevel southwesterly flow spread east/northeast across the Ohio Valley region during the tornado event.

850 mb valid 00 UTC 03 April 2024. A deep low-level cyclone was present centered over lake Michigan, with fairly robust 40-50 kt south-southwesterlies at 850 mb aiding in moist advection and enhanced low-level vertical wind shear across the Ohio Valley region.

WPC surface analysis valid 00 UTC 03 April 2024. Storms initiated off of a cold front, and it was the activity that occurred along and south of a strong east-west gradient in theta-e that posed the greatest tornado threat from roughly the Ohio river southward.

RAP sounding valid 22 UTC 02 April 2024 near the Cincinnati airport. Thermodynamics were characterized by generally weak to moderate CAPE as well as generally low CIN and minimal near-surface stable layers.

RAP hodograph valid 22 UTC 02 April 2024 near the Cincinnati airport. A favorable wind profile was in place for supercells and short to medium pathlength tornadoes, though the veer-back characteristics of the shear vectors going from 0-5 km AGL and then 5-10 km AGL might have led to messy storm interactions.