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Plains Weather Discussion


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...MIDDLE MO VALLEY/UPPER MIDWEST/UPPER MS VALLEY...

CURRENT INDICATIONS ARE THAT RELATIVELY WEAK INHIBITION MAY EXIST

WITHIN A RELATIVELY MOIST /LOWER 60 F SURFACE DEWPOINTS/ AND

POTENTIALLY UNSTABLE /MLCAPE TO 1000-1500 J PER KG/ AIRMASS TO THE

EAST OF THE AFOREMENTIONED COLD FRONT/DEVELOPING SURFACE LOW.

HOWEVER...THE LIKELIHOOD/EXTENT OF SURFACE BASED CONVECTIVE

DEVELOPMENT THROUGH PEAK HEATING IS A BIT UNCERTAIN...ESPECIALLY

GIVEN INITIALLY MODEST BROAD SCALE FORCING FOR ASCENT AND THE

POSSIBILITY OF RESIDUAL CAPPING ALOFT VIA AN ELEVATED MIXED LAYER.

HOWEVER...ANY SURFACE BASED DEVELOPMENT THAT DOES DEVELOP/MATURE

THROUGH LATE AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING COULD POSE A SEVERE RISK GIVEN

AMPLE VERTICAL SHEAR/INSTABILITY. WITH SUPERCELLS AT LEAST

CONDITIONALLY POSSIBLE...THIS COULD INCLUDE SEVERE HAIL/WIND AND

PERHAPS SOME TORNADO POTENTIAL ACROSS PORTIONS OF IA/SOUTHERN MN

INTO NORTHWEST WI.

OF GREATER LIKELIHOOD WILL BE FOR CONVECTION TO INCREASE WEDNESDAY

NIGHT NEAR MUCH OF THE EASTWARD-SHIFTING FRONTAL ZONE...AS FORCING

FOR ASCENT APPRECIABLY INCREASES LATE WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY WITH

AID OF LARGE SCALE HEIGHT FALLS AND A COUPLED UPPER JET. WITH

INCREASING FORCING FOR ASCENT/VERTICAL SHEAR...SUFFICIENT

MOISTURE/INSTABILITY ATTENDANT TO THE FRONTAL ZONE WILL ALLOW FOR

THE POSSIBILITY OF AT LEAST SPORADIC SEVERE HAIL AND PERHAPS

STRONG/SEVERE WIND GUSTS DURING THE EVENING.

A CATEGORICAL SLIGHT RISK MAY BE WARRANTED FOR PORTIONS OF THE

REGION IN SUBSEQUENT OUTLOOKS AS DETAILS BECOME BETTER REFINED.

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DAY 2 CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK

NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK

0100 AM CDT TUE OCT 23 2012

VALID 241200Z - 251200Z

...THERE IS A SLGT RISK OF SVR TSTMS ACROSS THE UPPER MS

VALLEY/MIDDLE MO VALLEY...

...SYNOPSIS...

AN EASTWARD-SHIFTING LONGWAVE TROUGH WILL BE PREVALENT OVER THE

WESTERN HALF OF THE CONUS ON WEDNESDAY. STEADY HEIGHT FALLS ARE

EXPECTED OVER THE UPPER MIDWEST AND UPPER MS VALLEY ON THE PERIPHERY

OF A CLOSED/LEAD PORTION OF THE UPPER TROUGH OVER THE CENTRAL

CANADIAN PRAIRIES. STEADY SURFACE CYCLOGENESIS IS ANTICIPATED

ESPECIALLY INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT ACROSS THE UPPER MS

VALLEY AND CENTRAL HIGH PLAINS...WITH A STRONG COLD FRONT BECOMING

INCREASINGLY DEFINED IN A NORTHEAST-SOUTHEAST ORIENTATION ACROSS THE

UPPER MIDWEST/UPPER MS VALLEY TO THE CENTRAL PLAINS BY WEDNESDAY

NIGHT.

...MIDDLE MO VALLEY/UPPER MIDWEST/UPPER MS VALLEY...

HEATING/DESTABILIZATION AND INCREASINGLY WEAK INHIBITION IS EXPECTED

NEAR/JUST AHEAD OF THE NORTHEAST-SOUTHWEST ORIENTED COLD FRONT AND

DEVELOPING SURFACE LOW WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. BENEATH A RELATIVELY

STEEP PLUME OF MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES...LOWER 60S F SURFACE DEWPOINTS

MAY CONTRIBUTE TO AS MUCH AS 1500-2500 J/KG MLCAPE BY PEAK HEATING.

HOWEVER...THE LIKELIHOOD/EXTENT OF SURFACE BASED CONVECTIVE

DEVELOPMENT THROUGH PEAK HEATING REMAINS UNCERTAIN...ESPECIALLY

GIVEN INITIALLY MODEST BROAD SCALE FORCING FOR ASCENT AND THE

POSSIBILITY OF RESIDUAL CAPPING ALOFT VIA THE ELEVATED MIXED LAYER.

HOWEVER...ANY DEVELOPMENT THAT DOES OCCUR/MATURE THROUGH LATE

AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING COULD POSE A SURFACE BASED SEVERE RISK GIVEN

AMPLE VERTICAL SHEAR/INSTABILITY...WITH SUPERCELLS AT LEAST

CONDITIONALLY POSSIBLE. THIS COULD INCLUDE SEVERE HAIL/WIND AND SOME

TORNADO POTENTIAL ACROSS PORTIONS OF IA/SOUTHERN MN INTO WESTERN WI.

A GREATER LIKELIHOOD WILL BE FOR CONVECTION TO INCREASE IN EARNEST

WEDNESDAY NIGHT NEAR MUCH OF THE EASTWARD-SHIFTING FRONTAL ZONE FROM

THE UPPER MS VALLEY TO THE CENTRAL PLAINS. THIS WILL BE AS FORCING

FOR ASCENT APPRECIABLY INCREASES LATE WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY WITH

AID OF LARGE SCALE HEIGHT FALLS AND A COUPLED UPPER JET. WITH

INCREASING FORCING FOR ASCENT/VERTICAL SHEAR...SUFFICIENT

MOISTURE/INSTABILITY ATTENDANT TO THE FRONTAL ZONE WILL ALLOW FOR

THE POSSIBILITY OF AT LEAST SPORADIC SEVERE HAIL. SOME STRONG/SEVERE

WIND GUSTS MAY ALSO BE POSSIBLE DURING THE EVENING...ALTHOUGH THE

UNDERCUTTING NATURE OF THE FRONT SHOULD TEMPER THIS POTENTIAL.

..GUYER.. 10/23/2012

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Part of me really wants to made the journey to the SE MN/WI border tomorrow, but its too conditional to justify missing classes I believe. If the cap goes, the hodos are looking really nasty and the instability is really crazy for this time of year this far north. But the conditional nature and the somewhat iffy terrain make it hard to drive 6-7 hours and chase storms east, away from home. If it ends up busting, that's a long long drive back with a lot to do the next day from missing a lot. A triangle from Rochester to La Crosse to Eau Claire looks great to me.

The differences between the NAM and GFS instability wise are concerning.

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The differences between the NAM and GFS instability wise are concerning.

The GFS' low BL temp bias rearing its head once again, comparing the two and with forecast highs from around the area. For instance, the GFS has 65-70 in the La Crosse area tomorrow, the NAM is 5-10 degrees warmer and NWS forecast has 77.

If the NAM is right, we have pretty Spring-esque (even later in the season towards Summer) low level thermodynamics with this setup, and in contrast with many setups like that, the 700 mb temperatures aren't overly high. For chasers going in on this, the terrain is definitely a problem, considering it quickly turns ugly east of the SE MN/WI border. Low level shear looks great 18z and after as winds back closer to the warm front.

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The GFS' low BL temp bias rearing its head once again, comparing the two and with forecast highs from around the area. For instance, the GFS has 65-70 in the La Crosse area tomorrow, the NAM is 5-10 degrees warmer and NWS forecast has 77.

If the NAM is right, we have pretty Spring-esque (even later in the season towards Summer) low level thermodynamics with this setup, and in contrast with many setups like that, the 700 mb temperatures aren't overly high. For chasers going in on this, the terrain is definitely a problem, considering it quickly turns ugly east of the SE MN/WI border. Low level shear looks great 18z and after as winds back closer to the warm front.

All very good points. The 18z NAM may have just swayed me a bit. Shear wise, everything is looking better and the instability is still pretty amazing for this time of year. We have 3 other students who are on the verge of going, so it may happen after all depending on the 00z data. The 18z cap is just a bit stronger, but it can definitely be overcome. I think its right at the 14-15 degree C area around 600-650 mb if I remember correctly. This setup is promising to me because the capping and directional shear should keep everything fairly discrete and photogenic should it pop.

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I don't know if this applies to MN/WI, but I know that according to Jon Davies, it's not a good idea to use the 700mb rule to judge capping in the far northern states, due to higher land elevation. I may be interpreting this incorrectly so correct me if I am wrong.

http://www.jondavies...p/700mbTcap.htm

Here, he is talking about the northern High Plains... that's west of 100 deg W. The elevation near this part of MN/WI is fairly low, FWIW (I know you prefaced the statement by saying you don't know if it applies to MN/WI, though).

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Due to worries about cloud cover, capping, and instability, we are sitting tomorrow out after all. If you look at the RAP when comparing the NAM... the instability is nowhere close (near the best shear profiles). The RAP looks like cloud cover all day long. On top of that, the NAM generally over-estimated today's temps in the main target area by 5+ degrees. I strongly believe, that if anything gets going, it will be after dark and its too risky for a 6-7 hour drive there and back. Also, the 00z NAM shows stronger capping from what I'm seeing except for right on and above the warm front. If nothing goes up early, it will be shame to see such a waste of wonderful shear parameters.

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Due to worries about cloud cover, capping, and instability, we are sitting tomorrow out after all. If you look at the RAP when comparing the NAM... the instability is nowhere close (near the best shear profiles). The RAP looks like cloud cover all day long. On top of that, the NAM generally over-estimated today's temps in the main target area by 5+ degrees. I strongly believe, that if anything gets going, it will be after dark and its too risky for a 6-7 hour drive there and back. Also, the 00z NAM shows stronger capping from what I'm seeing except for right on and above the warm front. If nothing goes up early, it will be shame to see such a waste of wonderful shear parameters.

*Sigh*

This year...again.

I'm not so sure it's the NAM overdoing temps (although with clouds, this will definitely play a role as well) as much as it is the WF being significantly farther south on the RAP, at least to my eyes.

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*Sigh*

This year...again.

I'm not so sure it's the NAM overdoing temps as much as it is the WF being significantly farther south on the RAP, at least to my eyes.

Sure looks that way to me, too. At 21z the front bisects IA from SW-NE and has cleared all of MN save the farthest SE corner. This wouldn't be the first time in 2012 this mode of failure has reared its head.

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Oh I agree that could very well be the case. I just observed that the NAM had overestimated the temps in the target area today... there may be nothing to it, but I just can't miss class for it. If it had been a weekend, I'd already be there no matter what.

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Yup, the RAP would make Iowa the place to be. The cap isn't terrible there but if the RAP were to verify it would simply be too far south and east for me to make the trip on a school day.

Yeah, looking at IA, I do see potential, although not for you, so I might still have something to keep tabs on (other than the relentless model wars of the NE/Sandy doldrums), although I guess we'll see what the SPC thinks in a few minutes.

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