Understanding the Importance of the Dry Line in Severe Weather Threats (credit: Andrew Pritchard)

DISCUSSION: As we get into the heart of the climatological severe weather season across the Central Plains region of the United States, many people get more and more engaged with the details pertaining to severe weather forecasts.  Of the many parameters and details which control the timing and magnitude of severe weather events across the South-Central Plains region of the United States, one of the biggest players is the seasonal feature which is most commonly referred to as the “dry line.”  The dry line is effectively the quasi-linear feature which seasonally separates regions characterized by drier and hotter desert-based air masses from much warmer and moister tropically-oriented air masses.  Thus, the dry line is effectively a convectively-favorable “battle zone” from the early Spring to Summer time frame and can often act as a catalyst for convective storm development.

It is also important to note that dry lines are (as previously noted) a seasonal feature such that dry line influences only exist during the Spring and Summer-time months more often than not.  However, it is worth noting that dry line influences can occur outside of those seasons as well which can catch people by surprise outside of the Spring and Summer-time months.  Another interesting thing about dry line dynamics is the fact that when dry lines do form, they often slide eastward in accordance with daytime heating and then retrograde back westward during the overnight hours.  Therefore, although most convective storm activity which is instigated via the presence of the dry line during daytime hours in a given situation, it can be cyclic for multiple days at a time (if the conditions are right for a long enough period of time).

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© 2018 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz