Among the storms involved in today's modest severe weather outbreak across the south was one supercell in south-central Arkansas that towered to almost 53,000 feet and produced hail 1.75" to 2.00" in diameter. The storm had a great presentation on weather radar and made it easy to see why it was able to produce such large hail.

Satellite images over the past few weeks have been anything but boring, and last night's thunderstorms were no exception. A weakening squall line moving through Illinois and Missouri formed into almost a perfect cane shape as the northern end wrapped around a strengthening low west of Chicago.

Doppler weather radar is one of the most useful tools available to track the weather in almost real time. Since the technology came into regular use in the 1950s, researchers have made incredible advances in the abilities of basic weather radar. Not only does weather radar track precipitation, but it can also detect bugs, bats, dust, road traffic, tornado debris, and even the setting sun.

The above 3D radar image shows a supercell thunderstorm near Abilene, Texas this evening as it reportedly produces hail up to the size of golf balls. The storm has a great structure — a long anvil extending towards the northeast away from the main convection, cloud tops that reach over 40,000 feet, and two cores (main areas of heavy rain and hail) that are split in half by the storm's updraft.