A few overshooting top detections have popped up over the last hour and they correlate well with where some of the most severe weather reports have been coming in from in IND’s CWA. I originally analyzed the OTD product with IR but found it difficult to find the detections with the traditional color scheme. After attempting a few different color schemes, my curiosity led me to eventually switch over to the vis satellite imagery and overlaid the OTD on top. The loop is below.

This product does allow a mesoscale forecaster to bring attention to a certain area. However, in this type of situation where multiple cells are erupting and multiple reports coming in from all up and down the convective “line,” I haven’t found this product to be terribly helpful if in a real warning situation. As I type this, another OTD appeared near the Warren/Fountain County lines but only minutes before base reflectivity ramped up.

~Linda