One of the most interesting things about yesterday’s tornado event was watching the airmass gradually recover while each supercell went through.
Here are the three primary cells I chased yesterday.
The initial cell really only hit 76 sfc temps, which just wasn’t enough to produce a strong tornado.
The second cell, the one that produced the Mattoon-Charleston tornado, experienced 79 sfc temps and was able to produce.
The third cell, the Effingham tornado producer, encountered sfc temps of 82 and produced a fairly long track strong tornado.
Thermos recovering slowly likely saved Illinois from a much more impactful tornado outbreak.