STEPS studies supercell physics

The Severe Thunderstorm Electrification and Precipitation Studies (STEPS) field program kept NSSL scientists along the Colorado-Kansas border for eight weeks from May 22-July 16, 2000, studying thunderstorms and lightning on the high plains. STEPS scientists have three core areas of interest: how precipitation forms in supercell storms, how these storms produce electricity and lightning, and how polarimetric radars can be used to estimate the type (such as hail, snow, or rain) and amount of precipitation in storms.

NSSL/STEPS researchers were joined by others from the National Weather Service, National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Colorado State University, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NMIMT), South Dakota School of Mines, University of North Dakota, OU, and the University of Florida. By combining and coordinating their resources, scientists gathered data on the storms using a network of three Doppler radars, two dual-polarization radars, a T-28 armored aircraft for storm penetration, several mobile sounding systems, mobile ground units including NSSL mobile mesonet vehicles, and a deployable lightning mapping system from the NMIMT.