Fine-scale Mobile Mesonet and Stick-net observations of a non-tornadic HP supercell near Scottsbluff, NE

On June 11th, 2006, an intense thunderstorm developed over eastern Wyoming and moved eastward into the Nebraska Panhandle, where it gained supercellular characteristics. The storm initially propagated southeastward, and eventually stalled immediately to the south of Scottsbluff, NE. Several factors are believed to have affected storm motion, intensity, and duration, including local terrain features (e.g. buttes), ancillary storms in the vicinity, and a preexisting outflow boundary.

Five Mobile Mesonet probes and one Stick-net stationary probe were used to sample the local storm environment during this event as part of Project MOBILE (Multiple Observations of Boundaries in Local-storm Environments). Several notable features were recorded. Mobile Mesonet probes sampled the inflow, portions of the forward flank region, and the rear-flank boundary, all in close proximity to a butte. Later, another storm from the southwestern Nebraska Panhandle merged with the original storm. Stick-net was positioned in the location where the storms merged and recorded the kinematic and thermodynamic evolution of this interaction.

Analysis of several features will be presented, along with experimental plans and methodologies related to the deployment of Stick-net and Mobile Mesonet probes.