Mini-Supercell in Arkansas: April 30
After starting the day with a lot of uncertainties, I’m glad I stuck with this chase, because it ended up being worth the patience. Having chased the previous four days and five of the prior six days, all with mixed success, it appeared as if another underperforming day might be underway, this time targeting the Arkansas/Missouri area. By late afternoon, one thunderstorm developed ahead of a line of storms in northern Arkansas and this storm began to turn right (east to southeast movement). I knew that this would be the storm to chase and considering I was within an hour or so from getting into position, it wasn’t out of the way either.
A small supercell thunderstorm over open country. Ash Flat, AR, April 30, 2016.
After finally finding a clearing near Ash Flat, AR, I was able to watch this mini-supercell spin over open fields. It was highly photogenic and arguably one of my best storms so far this spring. The storm was broadly rotating and had moments where scuddy inflow kept things interesting, but alas, low-level shear was not significant enough for the storm to produce a tornado.
Another mini-supercell formed right behind this storm, but with daylight fading and storms gradually weakening, the chase would come to an end a short time later. All in all, this was a great way to cap off the week of chasing with a photogenic supercell to watch in peace and quiet. Very few people were out chasing this event, so that is always a plus in my book to be able to snag a storm that is not inundated with storm chasers.
