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Severe weather: 5/10-5/12 Plains/Midwest


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Amazing plume of L-LVL moisture in extreme SE NE. WF still hasn't made it to Lincoln/ Omaha yet.. South of the warm front DP's ~70 degrees with ~80 degree temps, north of the WF still at ~mid/upper 50's DP's and temps AOA 65... quite a gradient in air masses. Warm front has appeared to be fairly quasi-stationary IMO since 13Z with a little movement toward the north.

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Environment in the Omaha area is looking ugly later on as the warm front moves north and assumes a position where it's essentially intersecting the metro with extreme low level backing in place (a bit like 4/27 in the Little Rock area) and a plume of steep mid level lapse rates associated with the EML is overspreading the region pretty nicely.

 

Agreed, it looks like the Lincoln-Omaha corridor is going to be the prime location for a significant tornado threat.  The last few HRRR runs have been placing the warm front along this line or a tad bit south of there, and they all have been developing a lead cell or two with massive updraft helicity.  I think this is the type of setup where you'll get that one cell that goes crazy and produces significant tornadoes, while everything behind that cell lines out pretty quickly as the cold front advances.

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Agreed, it looks like the Lincoln-Omaha corridor is going to be the prime location for a significant tornado threat.  The last few HRRR runs have been placing the warm front along this line or a tad bit south of there, and they all have been developing a lead cell or two with massive updraft helicity.  I think this is the type of setup where you'll get that one cell that goes crazy and produces significant tornadoes, while everything behind that cell lines out pretty quickly as the cold front advances.

Agreed.  With the apparent most favorable corridor being one of the most populated areas under risk, it's disconcerting.

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MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0562

NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK

1249 PM CDT SUN MAY 11 2014

AREAS AFFECTED...N-CNTRL/NE KS...S-CNTRL/SE NEB...FAR SW IA...FAR NW

MO

CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...TORNADO WATCH LIKELY

VALID 111749Z - 111945Z

PROBABILITY OF WATCH ISSUANCE...95 PERCENT

SUMMARY...SUPERCELL TSTMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP WITHIN THE NEXT

HOUR OR TWO FROM N-CNTRL KS NEWD INTO FAR SW IA. ALL FACETS OF SVR

WX ARE POSSIBLE WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR WIND GUSTS GREATER THAN 65

KT...HAIL LARGER THAN 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...AND TORNADOES...A FEW

OF WHICH COULD BE STRONG. AS A RESULT...A TORNADO WATCH WILL BE

NEEDED BY 20Z OVER PORTIONS OF THE AREA.

DISCUSSION...RECENT VISIBLE SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS AN INCREASINGLY

AGITATED AND BUOYANT CU FIELD IN THE VICINITY OF RESIDUAL OUTFLOW

BOUNDARIES FROM EARLIER CONVECTION. SURFACE OBSERVATIONS ALSO

INDICATE BETTER MOISTURE ACROSS THIS AREA WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE MID

TO UPPER 60S. TEMPERATURES SOUTH OF AN OUTFLOW BOUNDARY EXTENDING

FROM JUST N OF RSL ENEWD TOWARDS STJ HAVE INCREASE TO ABOVE 80 DEG

F.

MODIFICATION OF THE 12Z TOP SOUNDING WITH RECENT OBSERVATIONS YIELDS

AN UNCAPPED ENVIRONMENT WITH MLCAPE GREATER THAN 2500 J PER KG.

HOWEVER...SOME MID-LEVEL WARMING IS LIKELY ONGOING WITH SOME

CONVECTIVE INHIBITION REMAINING. CONTINUED HEATING IS EXPECTED TO

ERODE THIS INHIBITION WITH RESULTANT CONVECTIVE INITIATION.

TWX AND EAX VAD PROFILERS SHOW VEERING LOW-LEVEL FLOW WITH TWX

RECENTLY MEASURING 219 M2/S2 OF 0-1 KM SRH. CONTINUED NWD PROGRESS

OF THE WARM FRONT IS EXPECTED...WITH STRONGLY VEERING WIND PROFILES

EXPECTED ACROSS THE WARM SECTOR FROM N-CNTRL KS NEWD INTO FAR SW IA.

BULK SHEAR IS ALSO EXPECTED TO INCREASE THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON AS

A LEAD SHORTWAVE MOVES THROUGH THE CNTRL PLAINS.

THIS ENVIRONMENT WILL READILY SUPPORT SUPERCELLS CAPABLE OF VERY

LARGE HAIL /GREATER THAN 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER/...STRONG WINDS...AND

TORNADOES...A FEW OF WHICH COULD BE STRONG. AS SUCH...A TORNADO

WATCH WILL BE NEEDED ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE AREA BY 20Z.

..MOSIER/MEAD.. 05/11/2014

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Agreed, it looks like the Lincoln-Omaha corridor is going to be the prime location for a significant tornado threat.  The last few HRRR runs have been placing the warm front along this line or a tad bit south of there, and they all have been developing a lead cell or two with massive updraft helicity.  I think this is the type of setup where you'll get that one cell that goes crazy and produces significant tornadoes, while everything behind that cell lines out pretty quickly as the cold front advances.

 

The HRRR literally targets Omaha l

 

Resolves two intense supercells within its 3km grid with every severe parameter maxed out. Shows an insane amount of UH as well as surface wind gusts near 90mph. 

 

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Anybody think the SPC will go PDS with this? Given the obvious explosive and volatile environment it seems warranted... They might do what they did a few weeks ago on 4/27 and go TOR watch then go PDS if the higher tornado threat is becoming more blatant.

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Another concern is that the storm motions today will favour storms moving parallel to the WF rather than across it (like 4/27) so any supercells that can stay out ahead could track into IA as well where the environment looks to recover quite quickly this afternoon.

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Anybody think the SPC will go PDS with this? Given the obvious explosive and volatile environment it seems warranted... They might do what they did a few weeks ago on 4/27 and go TOR watch then go PDS if the higher tornado threat is becoming more blatant.

 

Tornado risk is only at 10% right now... probably not high enough to warrant PDS.

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KTOP sounding at 18Z is very odd. Shows SBCAPE and MLCAPE both under 1000J/KG and 0-1km shear of 14kts w/ 74m2/s2 of SRH, and 0-3km shear of 32kts w/ 166m2/s2 of SRH. Supercell composite of only 1. Interestingly the VAD profiler from TWX shows a much different picture, as well as SPC mesoanalysis. Any idea as to why this is? Obviously KTOP isn't in the main threat area, but it isnt too far south/east

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KTOP sounding at 18Z is very odd. Shows SBCAPE and MLCAPE both under 1000J/KG and 0-1km shear of 14kts w/ 74m2/s2 of SRH, and 0-3km shear of 32kts w/ 166m2/s2 of SRH. Supercell composite of only 1. Interestingly the VAD profiler from TWX shows a much different picture, as well as SPC mesoanalysis. Any idea as to why this is? Obviously KTOP isn't in the main threat area, but it isnt too far south/east

 

The transmission ended at only 400mb so the top half of the sounding is missing.

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KTOP sounding at 18Z is very odd. Shows SBCAPE and MLCAPE both under 1000J/KG and 0-1km shear of 14kts w/ 74m2/s2 of SRH, and 0-3km shear of 32kts w/ 166m2/s2 of SRH. Supercell composite of only 1. Interestingly the VAD profiler from TWX shows a much different picture, as well as SPC mesoanalysis. Any idea as to why this is? Obviously KTOP isn't in the main threat area, but it isnt too far south/east

 

The sounding didn't sample the entire troposphere, for one. You can tell the CAPE profile is impressive.

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Tornado watch for NE/IA, 80/50 tornado probs.

 

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 142
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
220 PM CDT SUN MAY 11 2014

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTHWEST IOWA
NORTH-CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST KANSAS
FAR NORTHWEST MISSOURI
SOUTH-CENTRAL AND EASTERN NEBRASKA

* EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 220 PM UNTIL
1000 PM CDT.

* PRIMARY THREATS INCLUDE...
SEVERAL TORNADOES LIKELY WITH A COUPLE INTENSE TORNADOES
POSSIBLE
SCATTERED LARGE HAIL LIKELY WITH ISOLATED VERY LARGE HAIL EVENTS
TO 2.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER POSSIBLE
ISOLATED DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH POSSIBLE

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 60 STATUTE
MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 70 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF
KEARNEY NEBRASKA TO 35 MILES NORTHEAST OF SHENANDOAH IOWA. FOR A
COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE
UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU2).

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH
AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR
THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS
AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

&&

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 141...

DISCUSSION...EXPLOSIVE TSTM DEVELOPMENT IS ANTICIPATED FROM JUST
NORTHEAST OF A SURFACE LOW OVER NORTH-CENTRAL KANSAS NORTHEAST ALONG
A WARM FRONT MOVING NORTH THROUGH EASTERN NEBRASKA AND WESTERN IA.
GIVEN THE COMBINATION OF MODERATE TO STRONG INSTABILITY AND STRONG
LOW-LEVEL AND DEEP-LAYER SHEAR...THE ENVIRONMENT WILL BE QUITE
FAVORABLE FOR LONG-LIVED SUPERCELLS CAPABLE OF VERY LARGE HAIL AND
TORNADOES...A COUPLE OF WHICH COULD BE INTENSE.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24030.


...MEAD
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