Producing Supercell Thunderstorm on 28 August 1990
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Anton Seimon Anomalous Cloud-to-Ground Department of Atmospheric Science, Lightning in an F5-Tornado- State University of New York at Albany, producing Supercell Albany, New York Thunderstorm on 28 August 1990 Abstract sion of wind damage in that a large region of downburst wind damage narrowed to a focus whereupon tornadic An F5 tornado that devastated Plainfield, Illinois, and environs damage began (Fig. 1). Furthermore, this storm dif- on 28 August 1990, killing 29 people, is shown to be produced by a fered considerably from classic supercell storms thunderstorm characterized by highly anomalous cloud-to-ground (Lemon and Doswell 1979) in that radar signatures (CG) lightning activity. Unlike typical summertime convection in which the majority of CG flashes lower negative charge to ground, and eyewitness accounts suggest that mesocyclone the Plainfield storm produced predominantly positive-polarity CG formation and tornadogenesis occurred near the lead- flashes during development. Changes in storm structure revealed ing edge of the southeast-moving storm, and not in the by radar imagery appear tied to distinct patterns in the CG flash more commonly observed rear-flank location. While parameters of polarity, flash frequency, first stroke peak current, several storms formed regionally within the same flash multiplicity, and flash location relative to the parent cumulon- imbus. The primary findings are 1) the anomalous predominance environment, the Plainfield storm was the lone tor- (91%) of positive-polarity CG flashes during development; 2) posi- nado producer and was furthermore the only storm tive CG flashes anomalously occurring mainly within the region of that clearly displayed anomalous cloud-to-ground (CG) the storm's radar reflectivity core; 3) the onset of a major downburst lightning patterns during development, recognizable coinciding with a sudden increase in CG flash rate, from 4 to 17 in real time in this storm's anomalous predominance of flashes min-1, and positive percentage, from 91% to 100%; 4) a reduction in flash rate from 17 to 3 flashes min-1 in 3 min, coinciding positive polarity CG lightning (Fig. 2). As such, the with the rapid development of a front-flank mesocyclone; 5) a 20-min Plainfield storm was identifiable as being of unusual span of reduced CG activity (1-2 flashes min-1) coinciding with electrical character from about two hours prior to tornado formation and intensification; 6) the reversal in dominant tornadogenesis. CG flash polarity from positive to negative over the entire thunder- storm domain at the time of tornado touchdown, an occurrence previously undocumented in any other tornadic thunderstorm; 7) steadily weakening mean peak current values (from +100 to +38 kA) leading to the reversal, and steadily strengthening values (from -20 to -40 kA) following the reversal; and 8) the temporary clustering of all CG flashes within 10 km of the tornadic mesocyclone at maxi- mum (F5) tornadic intensity. These findings suggest the possibility of a relationship between this tornadic thunderstorm's dynamics and electrical activity. 1. Introduction On 28 August 1990, 29 people were killed in the vicinity of Plainfield, Illinois, when a supercell thunder- storm spawned a rare, extreme-intensity (F5) tornado. The Plainfield storm was born of an environment only marginally supportive of supercell storm develop- ment, yet the tornado has been identified by Fujita as having been the strongest tornado he has assessed thus far (T. Fujita, invited talk, Tornado Symposium III, FIG. 1. Wind damage map (redrawn) for the Plainfield storm of 28 2-5 April 1991, Norman, Oklahoma). Damage sur- August 1990 from an aerial and ground survey by the University of Chicago as published in Storm Data. Damage type and estimated veys also identified an unusual continuous progres- track of the tornado-supporting mesocyclone are indicated. County names and outlines are provided, as are three-letter station identifiers ©1993 American Meteorological Society mentioned in the text. Times (UTC) are shown. Bulletin American Meteorological Society 189 Unauthenticated | Downloaded 10/11/21 10:22 AM UTC FIG. 2. Cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning activity over the lower Great Lakes region between 1800 and 2200 UTC on 28 August 1990. Flash polarity is indicated by color with red denoting positive and blue negative. In this observational study, an overview of the life related timing error (6 ms) at the Clarksville, Michigan, of the Plainfield storm is first presented, in which DF site was identified and corrected in postanalysis, storm evolution is broken down into phases of struc- yielding slight improvements in some flash character- tural development and compared with corresponding istics and locations over those available in real time. A CG lightning trends and flash parameter averages. second dataset was created to serve as a control for Anomalies in CG lightning activity are then detailed comparison with the Plainfield data. All flashes occur- and interrelations identified between particular elec- ring over the region traversed by the Plainfield storm trical and morphological aspects of this thunder- are included in this dataset for the summer of 1990 (21 storm. June to 21 September), with the data for the four hours of the Plainfield storm dataset excluded. The radar data are from the National Weather 2. Data sources Service (NWS) WSR74S10-cm radar site at Marseilles, Illinois (MMO), with a second film kindly provided by Lightning data for the Plainfield storm were re- the United Airlines Weather Center (UAL) at Elk Grove, trieved for 28 August 1990 from the archive of the Illinois, from their 5-cm Collins radar. Conventional National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) at the NWS surface and rawinsonde observations were uti- State University of New York in Albany (SUNYA). This lized for analyses. Eyewitness accounts of the storm system utilizes a network of magnetic direction-finding were obtained through videotaped interviews con- (DF) sites to reveal flash time, location, polarity, peak ducted on site by R. Moore of El Paso, Illinois, and B. current, and multiplicity characteristics of CG lightning Vonnegut of SUNYA about six weeks after the tor- (Orville et al. 1983; see Orville 1991 for DF locations). nado. Additional information on this storm is found in Flash times are reliable within 6 ms, and locations Storm Data (August 1990) and "The Plainfield/Crest accurate on average within a few kilometers (Orville et Hill Tornado" Natural Disaster Survey Report [U.S. al. 1983). In this particular case, a slight satellite- Department of Commerce (DoC) 1991]. 190 Vol. 74, No. 2, February 1993 Unauthenticated | Downloaded 10/11/21 10:22 AM UTC 3. Overview of storm development a. Storm environment A weak surface cyclone formed near Lake Huron during 28 August with a cold front ex- tending southwestward into Iowa. Widespread convection erupted over a large region to the southwestthrough southeast of the cyclone during the after- noon; the Plainfield storm was the westernmost of these con- vective developments. Meso- analysis shows this cold front as being poorly defined in the Illi- nois-Wisconsin region, with sev- eral weak wind shifts and ill- defined thermal and moisture boundaries (Fig. 3). Less am- biguous is an exceptional de- FIG. 3. Regional surface mesoanalysis for 1750 UTC on 28 August 1990. Conventional gree of low-level moisture char- frontal analysis is provided with isobars (2-mb interval), and 25°C isodrosotherms (dashed line) acterizing the storm region, with encompassing areas of maximum dewpoints (shaded). Plotted data are temperature (°C; upper ambient dewpoints of 25°-28°C left of station model), dewpoint (°C; lower left), and winds in m s_1 with full barb and half barb 1 1 by 1800 UTC (all times UTC) equal to 5 m s~ and 2.5 m s~ , respectively. Plainfield is located immediately southeast of ARR. when storm development was under way. Upper-tropospheric ======::^^ analyses (not shown) show that the storm region lay on the anticyclonic shear side of somewhat uncommon, is far from unique. A study by a seasonally strong migratory shortwave trough. Lower Johns (1982) has indicated that northern Illinois fea- levels were characterized by weak warm advection tures the highest incidence nationwide of northwest and a slowly strengthening wind field from the west- flow-type severe weather outbreaks east of the northwest. The storm motion to the southeast, while Rockies. The thermodynamic and vertical wind structure in the near-storm region is provided by the rawinsonde data from Peoria, Illinois (PIA), about 160 km south- west of Plainfield at 0000 UTC 29 August 1990, approximately 3 h after the tornado (Fig. 4). Excessive instability is apparent in the combination of the excep- tionally warm and moist near-surface layer overlaid by a deep layer characterized by very steep lapse rates. The tropopause is observed at 13.5 km and the lifted- parcel equilibrium level lies at 15.2 km. The lifted index (-13) and convective available potential energy (CAPE) of about 8000 J kg1 are both of extraordinary magni- tude. In comparison, the maximum CAPE value found FIG. 4. Sounding in skew T-logp format from Peoria, Illinois (PIA), at 0000 UTC 29 August 1990. Temperature (solid) and dewpoint (dashed) are shown along with a representative dry adiabat (313 K). Estimated parcel trajectory from the lifted condensation level is indicated, along with the region of positive potential buoyant energy (shading). Winds in m s~1 with pennant, barb, and