SPC AC 021259 DAY 1 CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 0659 AM CST FRI MAR 02 2012 VALID 021300Z - 031200Z ...THERE IS A HIGH RISK OF SVR TSTMS THIS AFTERNOON/EVENING FOR EXTREME SRN INDIANA...CENTRAL KY... AND NRN MIDDLE TN... ...THERE IS A MDT RISK OF SVR TSTMS SURROUNDING THE HIGH RISK...FOR MUCH OF THE OH/TN VALLEYS... ...THERE IS A SLGT RISK OF SVR TSTMS FROM THE LOWER MS VALLEY TO THE UPPER OH VALLEY AND APPALACHIANS... --SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT ACROSS MUCH OF THE OH/TN VALLEY REGION...INCLUDING THE POTENTIAL FOR LONG-TRACK/STRONG TORNADOES-- ...SYNOPSIS... A 130 KT JET STREAK ALOFT NOW OVERSPREADING NW OK PER PROFILER PLOTS WILL CONTINUE NEWD TO MO/IL/INDIANA BY THIS EVENING. A COUPLING OF LOW-LEVEL WAA/DECREASING STATIC STABILITY AND DIVERGENCE IN THE LEFT EXIT REGION OF THE MID-UPPER JET STREAK WILL PROMOTE DEEPENING OF A SURFACE CYCLONE WHICH WILL MOVE NEWD FROM MO TO CENTRAL IL BY MIDDAY...AND SRN LOWER MI BY THIS EVENING. A WARM FRONT WILL MOVE QUICKLY NWD TODAY IN ADVANCE OF THE CYCLONE...AND A TRAILING COLD FRONT WILL SWEEP EWD ACROSS THE MID MS AND OH VALLEY REGION. A RESERVOIR OF L0W-MID 60S BOUNDARY LAYER DEWPOINTS NEAR AND S OF I-40 WILL SURGE NEWD INTO THE OH VALLEY BY MID-LATE AFTERNOON...WHICH WILL CONTRIBUTE TO SUBSTANTIAL NEWD EXPANSION OF THE UNSTABLE WARM SECTOR IN THE WAKE OF MORNING ELEVATED CONVECTION IN THE WARM ADVECTION REGIME. ...TN/OH VALLEY REGION TODAY THROUGH THIS EVENING... THE INITIAL ELEVATED SEVERE STORMS NEAR STL /JUST AHEAD OF THE SURFACE CYCLONE/ WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD ENEWD OVER CENTRAL IL/INDIANA WITH AN ACCOMPANYING RISK FOR LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING GUSTS. THE MORE SERIOUS SEVERE STORM/TORNADO RISK WILL BEGIN TO MATERIALIZE IMMEDIATELY E OF THE MS RIVER BY MIDDAY. A BROKEN BAND OF STORMS WILL LIKELY FORM ALONG THE COLD FRONT BY EARLY AFTERNOON...WITH ADDITIONAL STORM DEVELOPMENT EXPECTED FARTHER E IN THE UNSTABLE/WEAKLY CAPPED WARM SECTOR. AS SURFACE TEMPERATURES WARM INTO THE UPPER 60S TO MID 70S AND MOISTURE LIKEWISE INCREASES...MLCAPE WILL INCREASE TO 1500-2000 J/KG AS FAR NE AS NRN KY BY LATE AFTERNOON. THE DESTABILIZATION WILL BE COINCIDENT WITH AN INCREASE IN DEEP-LAYER FLOW/VERTICAL SHEAR...WITH EFFECTIVE BULK SHEAR NEAR 70 KT AND EFFECTIVE SRH OF 300-400 M2/S2. THE VERY STRONG VERTICAL SHEAR...MODERATE INSTABILITY...A MOIST LOW-LEVEL ENVIRONMENT...AND THE LIKELIHOOD OF A FEW DISCRETE WARM SECTOR SUPERCELLS / AND SUPERCELLS WITHIN THE LINE ALONG THE FRONT/...ALL APPEAR SUPPORTIVE OF A POTENTIALLY SIGNIFICANT TORNADO EPISODE WITH A FEW LONG-TRACK/STRONG TORNADOES. THE MOST PROBABLE AREA FOR DAMAGING TORNADOES WILL BE SE OF THE SURFACE LOW TRACK IN THE MORE ESTABLISHED WARM SECTOR...OR NEAR AND S OF THE OH RIVER FROM EXTREME SRN INDIANA INTO CENTRAL KY/NRN MIDDLE TN. BOTH PRE-FRONTAL AND FRONTAL SUPERCELLS ARE MOST PROBABLE IN THE HIGH RISK AREA...AND SOME OF THESE STORMS COULD SPREAD AS FAR NE AS SW OH AND WRN WV BEFORE EXITING THE WARM SECTOR THIS EVENING. OTHERWISE...DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL CAN ALSO BE EXPECTED WITH THE PRE-FRONTAL AND FRONTAL STORMS THROUGH THIS EVENING. ...MS/AL/GA LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT... THE MOIST/UNSTABLE WARM SECTOR IS ALREADY ESTABLISHED ACROSS THE GULF COAST STATES THIS MORNING. THIS AREA WILL REMAIN A LITTLE S OF THE STRONGEST DEEP-LAYER FLOW...AND THE STRONGEST LLJ CORE WILL DEVELOP NEWD TO THE OH VALLEY IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE UPPER JET STREAK AND SURFACE CYCLONE. STILL...INSTABILITY AND VERTICAL SHEAR WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR SUPERCELLS WITHIN IN ONE OR MORE BANDS OF CONVECTION ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT BEGINNING LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUING INTO TONIGHT. RISKS WILL INCLUDE A FEW TORNADOES...DAMAGING WINDS...AND LARGE HAIL THROUGH TONIGHT. ..THOMPSON/LEITMAN.. 03/02/2012 CLICK TO GET WUUS01 PTSDY1 PRODUCT NOTE: THE NEXT DAY 1 OUTLOOK IS SCHEDULED BY 1630Z |