February 8, 2024

A very dynamic, strongly sheared system was moving through the Midwest. CAMs suggested the best storms would be up toward the Wisconsin/Illinois border, but I had a time constraint and couldn't get out of the house until late afternoon, so decided to play a tail end cell over central Illinois. The day opened with 30s F dews with strong warm advection bringing in barely 50s F dews across the region and forecast CAPE values of about 1000 J/Kg. A modest setup for sure, but shear profiles favored small, strongly rotating updrafts.

That first hint of a spring chase season: some golden light and convection.

I drove around the Tremont, IL area following some non-descript cells as the sun set before heading up toward Washington.

In the twilight, I was greeted by a small but dramatic cell sporting supercell structure with a laminar bell shaped base, and twisting updraft with billowing convection.

The low-topped mini-supercell twisted away for several minutes before the structure became less defined. The light faded and I called the chase and headed for home. A nice warm-up chase for the season.