(Above) Mid Southeast Animated Radar
(Below)
is the current United States radar summary with plotted movement (not animated) and internal cloud make up.
Legend:
Hail = Ice Balls of Various Sizes and make
up. The size of hail is always determined by the strength of the up draft and height of the parent cloud. The up draft must be strong enough to support the
weight of the ice and when the up draft can no longer support the weight of the ice, the
ice falls to the ground and we call it hail. Another aspect that helps create
a large hail stone is the up draft pushing upwards drops of rain up where it freezes
and falls, caught by the up draft and push upwardsagain and this process continues
until the updraft cannot support the weight of the ice. If you see a stone
the size of a golf ball or soft ball, you can be assured that winds loft are very
strong and there will be severe weather on the ground.
MESO = Cloud Rotation. The rotation in the cloud is usually horizontal. As the rotation strengthens, the
horizontal rotation begins to extend itself to a vertical rotation and depending on other
factors, the super cell can drop the rotation as a tornado. The doppler radar
sees the rotation as winds moving in one direction and immediately there is wind
moving in the opposite direction. These two winds moving in opposite directions
begins rotation.
TVS = Tornado Vortex Signature
(Doppler Radar sees a Hooked Image). At this time, the Peachtree
City, Georgia, National Weather Service or other NWS facilities, will issue a
tornado warning based on factors they see on radar and ground reports. NWS
also requests the public to phone in a report of
any sighting of a Vortex touching the ground or hail the size of
a quarter or larger.