Uploaded December 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In-depth meteorological breakdown of the severe weather outbreak that occurred across the Plains, particularly Oklahoma, on May 6, 2024. SPC had outlined a level 5 of 5 High Risk for severe weather on May 6 with the expectation that discrete supercells would be able to produce several long-track, strong to violent tornadoes. However, things did not go as planned, as the daytime round of supercells failed to produce significant tornadoes and eventually grew upscale into a squall line. But, all it took was one storm...a supercell fired ahead of the QLCS and produced the beastly Barnsdall, OK, EF4 after dark. In this video, we'll take a deep dive into the meteorology behind this event, focusing on some of the possible reasons why the daytime activity tended to underperform. After that, we'll discuss how the Barnsdall supercell and tornado developed, as well as some of the unique features they possessed.
Thumbnail image from Teddy Galligher (X: @GalligherTeddy). Thanks to James Burch for providing his footage of the Okeene EF1.
Contents
0:00 Introduction
1:46 Meteorological analysis begins
4:23 Unusual surface low track
8:59 Dual dryline structure
14:14 Radar overview
15:27 Possible failure modes for daytime convection
24:31 Why the Okeene supercell still produced multiple tornadoes
25:49 Barnsdall supercell/tornado analysis
32:16 Wrap-up
Become a Patreon member today to support the channel: patreon.com/convectivechronicles
Facebook: facebook.com/ConvectiveChronicles
X: twitter.com/ConvChronicles
Instagram: instagram.com/convectivechronicles
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Resources
NWS Norman event page: weather.gov/oun/events-20240506
Broyles et al. (2018): "Location and Frequency of Surface Lows and Lower-Tropospheric Jets for U.S. Violent Tornadoes" - spc.noaa.gov/publications/broyles/violjets.pdf
Thompson and Edwards (2000): "An Overview of Environmental Conditions and Forecast Implications of the 3 May 1999 Tornado Outbreak" - journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/wefo/15/6/1520-0434_2000_015_0682_aooeca_2_0_co_2.xml?tab_body=pdf
Nixon et al. (2024): "Cell Mergers, Boundary Interactions, and Convective Systems in Cases of Significant Tornadoes and Hail" - journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/wefo/aop/WAF-D-23-0117.1/WAF-D-23-0117.1.xml
Cameron Nixon's blog article on storm interactions: cameronjnixon.wordpress.com/research/storm-interactions
In-depth meteorological breakdown of the severe weather outbreak that occurred across the Plains, particularly Oklahoma, on May 6, 2024. SPC had outlined a level 5 of 5 High Risk for severe weather on May 6 with the expectation that discrete supercells would be able to produce several long-track, strong to violent tornadoes. However, things did not go as planned, as the daytime round of supercells failed to produce significant tornadoes and eventually grew upscale into a squall line. But, all it took was one storm...a supercell fired ahead of the QLCS and produced the beastly Barnsdall, OK, EF4 after dark. In this video, we'll take a deep dive into the meteorology behind this event, focusing on some of the possible reasons why the daytime activity tended to underperform. After that, we'll discuss how the Barnsdall supercell and tornado developed, as well as some of the unique features they possessed.
Thumbnail image from Teddy Galligher (X: @GalligherTeddy). Thanks to James Burch for providing his footage of the Okeene EF1.
Contents
0:00 Introduction
1:46 Meteorological analysis begins
4:23 Unusual surface low track
8:59 Dual dryline structure
14:14 Radar overview
15:27 Possible failure modes for daytime convection
24:31 Why the Okeene supercell still produced multiple tornadoes
25:49 Barnsdall supercell/tornado analysis
32:16 Wrap-up
Become a Patreon member today to support the channel: patreon.com/convectivechronicles
Facebook: facebook.com/ConvectiveChronicles
X: twitter.com/ConvChronicles
Instagram: instagram.com/convectivechronicles
----------------------------------------
Resources
NWS Norman event page: weather.gov/oun/events-20240506
Broyles et al. (2018): "Location and Frequency of Surface Lows and Lower-Tropospheric Jets for U.S. Violent Tornadoes" - spc.noaa.gov/publications/broyles/violjets.pdf
Thompson and Edwards (2000): "An Overview of Environmental Conditions and Forecast Implications of the 3 May 1999 Tornado Outbreak" - journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/wefo/15/6/1520-0434_2000_015_0682_aooeca_2_0_co_2.xml?tab_body=pdf
Nixon et al. (2024): "Cell Mergers, Boundary Interactions, and Convective Systems in Cases of Significant Tornadoes and Hail" - journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/wefo/aop/WAF-D-23-0117.1/WAF-D-23-0117.1.xml
Cameron Nixon's blog article on storm interactions: cameronjnixon.wordpress.com/research/storm-interactions
