Hook echo

Classic-style hook echo of the F5 1999 Bridge Creek-Moore tornado.
A hook echo present on a radar image of the May 22, 2011 Joplin EF5 tornado. The signature, along with a debris ball, is present on the bottom-left portion of the supercell that produced the tornado.

A hook echo is a pendant or hook-shaped weather radar signature as part of some supercell thunderstorms. It is found in the lower portions of a storm as air and precipitation flow into a mesocyclone, resulting in a curved feature of reflectivity. The echo is produced by rain, hail, or debris being wrapped around the supercell. It is one of the classic hallmarks of tornado-producing supercells. The National Weather Service may consider the presence of a hook echo coinciding with a tornado vortex signature as sufficient to justify issuing a tornado warning.

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