National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Tracking a Couple of Storm Systems Across the Country

Showers, along with a few strong to severe thunderstorms, are expected from the Great Lakes, New England and southward into the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys. In the wake of this system, a stronger storm is expected to track from the Pacific Northwest, Plains and through the Eastern U.S. this weekend. Strong winds, showers and a larger drop in temperatures are expected this weekend into Monday. Read More >

Automatically generated image showing areas of energy helicity index.

 

Thumbnail of an automatically generated image showing areas of energy helicity index. Thumbnail of an automatically generated image showing areas of energy helicity index. Thumbnail of an automatically generated image showing areas of energy helicity index.
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EHI 

The Energy Helicity Index (EHI) is a number which represents the combination of instability and storm relative helicity.  Our calculation uses mixed layer CAPE (surface to 3000ft average parcel) and 0-3 km storm relative helicity.  Values greater than 2 or 3 have been correlated to cyclonic supercells with increased tornadic potential.  Negative values are indicative of an environment favorable for anti-cyclonic (left moving) supercells, but tornadoes associated with anti-cyclonic supercells are extremely rare.

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