National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Areas of Dangerous Heat and Severe Thunderstorms

Dangerous heat will build across the Southwest U.S. through the end of the week with daytime highs of 110-115°F. Heat across the southern Plains will briefly ease to near-normal by late week before returning over much of the Plains into next week. Severe thunderstorms are expected across parts of the central and southern High Plains, central Great Lakes, and Ozarks Wednesday. Read More >

Automatically generated image showing areas of the significant tornado parameter.

 

Thumbnail of an automatically generated image showing areas of the significant tornado parameter. Thumbnail of an automatically generated image showing areas of the significant tornado parameter. Thumbnail of an automatically generated image showing areas of the significant tornado parameter.
Hour - 1 Hour - 2 Hour -3

4 Panel Display | Animated Loop

Significant Tornado (SigTor) 

A composite index that includes 0-6 km bulk wind shear, 0-1 km storm-relative helicity, surface based CAPE, surface parcel CIN, and surface parcel LCL height. Values greater than 1 are indicative of increased potential of significant tornadoes.

The contours are the Lifted Condensation Level or LCL.  A lower LCL typically increases tornadic risk because it is indicative of air parcel acceleration occurring closer to the surface. 

 

Back to Convective Parameters Home