SPC Mesoscale Discussion: Severe Potential… Watch Possible

SUMMARY…A further increase in thunderstorm intensity and organization appears possible through 3-5 PM CDT. This may be accompanied by an increase in severe weather potential which could require a watch within the next couple of hours.

DISCUSSION…An ongoing increase in thunderstorm development appears to be associated with a secondary band of large-scale ascent pivoting from the Ozark Plateau into the lower Ohio Valley, within the leading edge of larger-scale low-amplitude mid/upper troughing. As this is occurring, inhibition for seasonably moist boundary layer parcels continues to weaken in response to insolation, with mixed-layer CAPE approaching 2000 J/kg. At the same time, westerly deep-layer ambient mean fields and vertical shear are also beginning to increase, as a 40-50 kt 500 mb speed maximum gradually propagates eastward from the south central Plains. Into mid to late afternoon, the environment across western into central (middle) Kentucky and Tennessee, and surrounding portions of the lower Ohio Valley, may become conducive to increasingly organized convection. It is possible that this may include a few supercell structures, then perhaps one or two upscale growing clusters of storms accompanied primarily by a risk for potentially damaging wind gusts.

Tags: MesoScaleDiscussion

Category: ALL POSTS, MescoScale Discussions