(RUC-2 analysis profile at Audubon, Iowa, 17 UTC 7/2/99, updated by 17 UTC surface obs at DNS-ADU):
OAX
base refl. 1627 UTC 7/2/99"Elevated" profiles with deep inversions suggesting little or no potential for supercell tornadoes
Example 3a. This environment has a deep
inversion with large CIN throughout the bottom 3 km, an LFC above 3000 m, and no 0-3 km
CAPE. Storms that develop will likely be elevated in nature. Even with strong
shear-CAPE combinations and vertical shear, and a very low LCL, significant
supercell tornadoes are unlikely with such a deep layer of CIN and low-level stability
present. (Note: As supercell on radar below moved southeastward into lower
LFCs and larger CAPE, a brief weak tornado occurred 2-1/2 hours later.)
(RUC-2 analysis profile at Audubon, Iowa, 17 UTC 7/2/99, updated by 17 UTC surface obs at
DNS-ADU):
OAX
base refl. 1627 UTC 7/2/99
Observed: Long-lived nontornadic supercell with 1.75" hail and wind |
total ML CAPE 2146 J/kg 0-1 km SRH 262 m2/s2 |
| parameter value | support for supercell tornadoes? | why? | comments | |
| 0-1k EHI | 3.5 | strong | > 3.0 | |
| BL-6k shear | 58 kts | strong | > 45 kts | |
| LCL height | 257 m | strong | < 1000 m, very low | |
| CIN | 144 J/kg | poor/marginal (deep stable low-level layer) | near 150 J/kg | elevated environment |
| LFC height | 3417 m | poor (deep stable low-level layer) | > 2500 m, very high | elevated environment |
| 0-3k CAPE | 0 J/kg | poor | none | elevated environment |
description and key for examples
operational low-level thermodynamic parameter guidelines
Example 3b. This environment also has a
deep inversion with large CIN below 3 km and a relatively high LFC. Even with strong
shear-CAPE combinations and vertical shear, significant supercell tornadoes are unlikely
with such a deep stable low-level layer.
(RUC-2 analysis profile at Salina, Kansas, 02 UTC 4/21/01, updated by 02 UTC surface ob at
SLN):
ICT base refl. 0227 UTC 4/21/01
Observed: Long-lived nontornadic supercell with 1.75" hail |
total ML CAPE 2850 J/kg 0-1 km SRH 249 m2/s2 |
| parameter value | support for supercell tornadoes? | why? | comments | |
| 0-1k EHI | 4.4 | strong | > 3.0 | |
| BL-6k shear | 47 kts | strong | > 45 kts | |
| LCL height | 560 m | strong | < 1000 m, very low | |
| CIN | 217 J/kg | poor (deep stable low-level layer) | > 150 J/kg, quite large | elevated environment |
| LFC height | 2533 m | poor (deep stable low-level layer) | > 2500 m | elevated environment |
| 0-3k CAPE | 22 J/kg | poor | < 30 J/kg | elevated environment |
description and key for examples
operational low-level thermodynamic parameter guidelines