A special happy birthday today to hook echoes. On this date in 1953, Glenn Stout, a technician at the Illinois State Water Survey in Champagne, IL was testing a rebuilt weather radar unit. As Stout and his associates studied the thunderstorm, they noticed that its radar echo had taken on an unusual shape. It appeared to develop a tail, that resembled a hook.
They would learn later that at the time the “hook echo” developed, the thunderstorm was producing a tornado. Later analysis of the film taken during the test revealed that the hook shaped echo was closely associated with the tornado. . It was hypothesized that the hook was associated with the tornado that the thunderstorm produced. Analysis of radar film from a the tornado that devastated Waco, Texas and the deadly Worcester, Massachusetts tornado all indicated the same hook formation.
It became apparent that tornadoes did display a unique echo and that communities could be warned when the echo appeared. Radar indications of hook echoes would become one of the most important tools of meteorologists in issuing tornado warnings with the WSR-57 radar network. We still use the technique today...
They would learn later that at the time the “hook echo” developed, the thunderstorm was producing a tornado. Later analysis of the film taken during the test revealed that the hook shaped echo was closely associated with the tornado. . It was hypothesized that the hook was associated with the tornado that the thunderstorm produced. Analysis of radar film from a the tornado that devastated Waco, Texas and the deadly Worcester, Massachusetts tornado all indicated the same hook formation.
It became apparent that tornadoes did display a unique echo and that communities could be warned when the echo appeared. Radar indications of hook echoes would become one of the most important tools of meteorologists in issuing tornado warnings with the WSR-57 radar network. We still use the technique today...
on April 9, 2006, 1:00 pm
Bill , I know your a big weather history buff . Do you know what the temperature & dew point was on April 8 , 98 . I was just wondering what the " H - bomb " D.P had to be for such a huge storm to unleash . And I also heard that El-Nino had played a significant part in the D.P. being so high , is this true or not ? Thanks .
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