Supercell
Page 29
SSR Solid State Recorder
STEADICAM a stabilizing system, like a harness, for movie cameras when hand-held
STRATOSPHERE the higher region of the atmosphere beginning at roughly 6 to 10 miles above the earth’s surface
SUPERCELL the most violent and least common of thunderstorms; it’s characterized by a deep, persistent, rotating updraft called a mesocyclone
TAIL CLOUD a cloud band, often laminar and tube-shaped, attached to a wall cloud and reflective of strong inflow into a supercell
TORNADO SIGNATURE the Doppler radar indication of a strong mesocyclone within a thunderstorm and therefore a high probability of a tornado—see TVS; sometimes accompanied by a hook-shaped precipitation echo
TORNADO WARNING means a tornado is or may be imminent (based on actual sightings or Doppler radar indications); local National Weather Service Offices issue warnings
TORNADO WATCH means conditions are favorable for tornadoes to form within the next few hours; SPC outlines geographical areas where such conditions exist
TREXIMET a migraine medication; a combination of sumatriptan and naproxen sodium
TVS Tornado Vortex Signature; a Doppler radar algorithm that suggests the presence of a strong mesocyclone within a thunderstorm and therefore a high probability of a tornado (in more technical terms, based on how Doppler radar works, a TVS is a small, tight couplet of strong winds toward the radar immediately adjacent to strong winds away from the radar)
VORTICITY the measure of local atmospheric rotation around a vertical axis
WALL CLOUD a low, rotating cloud mass beneath the base of a strong thunderstorm, usually a supercell; often precedes tornado formation
WEDGE TORNADO a tornado that appears as a massive black triangle with its apex on the ground; a true wedge should be as wide at the ground as it is tall (measured from the cloud base)
WIND SHEAR the local variation of wind speed and direction along a vertical axis
XM short for XM Satellite Radio
ZOOMIES slang for Air Force personnel, especially fighter pilots
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Author’s Note
While Supercell is a work of fiction, several of the scenes in the book were inspired by a tornado chase I went on with Silver Lining Tours (www.silverliningtours.com) in 2012.
Specifically, the pursuit of the supercell from Levelland, Texas, toward Lubbock by the brothers Clarence and Raleigh was based on a chase I participated in. The big difference was that in the novel, the cell spun out a destructive twister. Although the storm I pursued with Silver Lining was big and black and mean, it didn’t drop a tornado. It did, however, coat the ground with a blanket of hail several inches deep. It left the roads on the south side of Lubbock looking as if it they’d been smacked by a High Plains blizzard.
Another scene inspired by the chase I was on was the one in which Chuck leads the film crew into a hailstorm along the Red River in Texas, then seeks shelter from the storm’s massive hail stones in a car wash. Silver Lining Tours ran an intercept on a big hailstorm in the same area and also hunkered down in a car wash. But the storm we tracked weakened and the hail core lumbered by just north of us, so we never witnessed the giant chunks of ice depicted in the novel.
I learned a lot about supercells on the chase, mainly drawing on the vast knowledge of Silver Lining Tours gracious co-owner, Roger Hill, and one of the tour’s veteran guides, Tom Howley. Tom, a retired dentist, provided invaluable input not only to the novel’s chase episodes, but also to the emergency medical care scenes. Happily, Tom turned out to be a first-rate literary critic, too, and helped me smooth out the book’s rough first draft.
Several other people also read through the initial draft and offered immensely helpful feedback: Dave Spiegler, a longtime friend and American Meteorological Society Fellow; Gary Schwartz, a friend and avid reader who knows his job isn’t to tell me what a great book I’ve written—quite the opposite, and because of that I’ve become a better writer; and Jeanie Pantelakis, my literary agent, who goes the extra mile for me—most agents don’t want to see your work until it’s spit shined, but Jeanie actually participates in the spit-shining.
My critique group at Peerless Book Store in Alpharetta, Georgia, suffered through countless readings of raggedy-ass, fresh-off-the-press chapters, and helped make them better. My special thanks to the regulars: John Sheffield, John Tabellione, Mark All and Valerie Connors.
John House, an urgent care physician and fellow novelist, vetted my emergency medical care scenes.
Greg Forbes, “Storm-meister Greg,” The Weather Channel’s severe weather expert and a former co-worker, answered a multitude of questions I had about severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. He also examined some of the technical explanations presented in the book, including the Glossary, and made sure they were on track. If I stepped on my meteorological poncho anyplace, it was my fault, not Greg’s.
A couple of excellent books helped me fill in my (lack of) knowledge of storm chasing and tornadoes. Tornado Alley—Monster Storms of the Great Plains, by Howard B. Bluestein, offers a well written, relatively technical look at supercells and tornadoes. Storm Chasing Handbook (Second Edition), by Tim Vasquez, proved a wonderful, practical guide for storm chasers . . . and novelists.
About the Author
H. W. “Buzz” Bernard is the bestselling author of EYEWALL, PLAGUE and now, SUPERCELL.
EYEWALL, his debut novel, became a number-one best seller on Amazon’s Kindle. Buzz is a native Oregonian and attended the University of Washington in Seattle where he earned a degree in atmospheric science and studied creative writing. He’s currently vice president of the Southeastern Writers Association.
He lives in Roswell, Georgia, near Atlanta, with his wife, Christina, and over-active Shih-Tzu, Stormy. If you’d like to learn more about Buzz you can go to his Website: buzzbernard.com; or his author page on Facebook: H. W. “Buzz” Bernard.