Two gust fronts collide over Greene County, enhancing rainfall

Thunderstorms that formed southeast of Dayton on Friday evening produced outflows that collided and helped enhance rainfall around Xenia.

Outflow boundaries, or gust fronts, are produced when cooler, rain-cooled air sinks, hits the ground and ushers out ahead of storms. The cooler air can act like a mini cold front, forcing air ahead of the boundary upward. This upward motion causes more clouds to form and can even generate or enhance thunderstorms.

This radar loop video from 5 p.m. to just after 7 p.m. Friday shows two outflow boundaries, produced by thunderstorms, colliding. This collision causes an enhanced upward motion and increased rainfall rates over Greene County. Radar estimates nearly 2 inches of rainfall fell within an hour between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. near Xenia.