Topic: Tornado Tracks

[ocala]

 [ You are not allowed to view attachments ] 56 years of tornado tracks.
Notice the absence in the mountainous regions of the east. I assume the mountains some how disrupt the flow but why couldn't the funnel just ride up and down the slopes of the mountains.

[CW2274]

Very cool pic. If I were to guess, the Appalachian's are void do to an unfavorable low level shear environment, which is crucial for tornado development.

[DaleReid]

I would agree.  I don't think I've ever heard of a tornado in, say Yellowstone or the Tetons.

The odd thing about this map is that the tracks are straight lines.  I know of one in northern Wisconsin that was clearly visible for weeks after the event when you looked at satellite images of the area from near Wausau to Green Bay, was the last 1/3 of the path being about 60 degrees bent to the north.

[CW2274]

The EF5 Bridge Creek/Moore tornado from 5/99 missed my dad's house by just over a mile. When I went to visit well over a year later, the scars just down the street were still very visible. Actually, kinda unsettling knowing that 300+ mile an hour wind occurred right where I was standing. Boggles the mind.

[Farmtalk]

Very cool pic. If I were to guess, the Appalachian's are void do to an unfavorable low level shear environment, which is crucial for tornado development.

This is true - in general, environmental parameters just usually are not suitable for a lot of tornadic development. I've actually been working on a book specifically dedicated to tornadoes (an anthology. if you will) in West Virginia (where I'm from) - we've averaged only about 2.2 tornadoes in the state since 1950.

Drier air coming off of the mountains is usually a major contributor as it generally extinguishes a lot of other severe weather indices one would look for tornado development. But it's still hot and humid here in the summertime and that's half the battle, usually. We always have joked in the weather lab where I work that storms come to die when they cross the Ohio River into West Virginia. I'd say 80+% of the time, that is true. But a few outbreaks of tornadoes in that area have occurred still if the conditions are still ripe.