Good morning all and I'd like to wish our fearless leader, Trev... a very happy birthday today!
Even though you're a damn heat miser, I wish you all the best man!
Okay so on to our severe wx threat... SPC has increased the slight risk area to include SE IN and NKY with a 5% tornado risk and 15% wind. A marginal risk for the rest of AV Country. Enhanced risk for the Western half of KY with a 10% tornado risk down there. We will continue to watch the data today and tomorrow. Best time for severe is Fri night with the cold front coming in so be weather aware as you may get woke up by your weather radio (which is a good thing!)
Overnight discussion from the boys:
The extended period begins Friday night with strengthening surface
low pressure lifting from the lower Missouri River valley to Lake
Michigan by Saturday morning. Strengthening southwesterly flow
ahead of the system will bring Gulf of Mexico-based trajectories up
through the Ohio Valley with 850mb winds in the 60-70 knot range
from the south and southwest. Dewpoints should rise through the 50s
to nearly 60 in this warm air advection regime. Advance checks of
the 3km NAM show areas of highly sheared showers and storms through
the pre-dawn hours. Am hesitant to buy off on the NAM`s depiction of
entirely elevated convection (which is not the case with the GFS);
thus believe that during this first phase, mass convergence from the
LLJ along with modest instability could lead to heavy rain and a few
strong to damaging wind gusts with developing convection. Will need
to keep an eye on forecast soundings as additional high-resolution
models become available later this morning.
The second phase will occur along and immediately ahead of the cold
front Saturday morning. Strong December-like forcing along with
increasingly surface-based CAPE provides concern for a QLCS-type
line of convection -- one with sfc-3km southwesterly shear reaching
around 70 knots. The main hazard will be damaging winds but will
also need to watch spin-up type tornado potential with any bowing
line segments that may develop. In addition, multiple rounds of
heavy rain will raise flash flooding concerns.
Post-frontal CAA will be in full swing for midday Saturday through
the afternoon hours as temperatures fall from early morning highs
near 60 down into the 30s by late in the day. Latest guidance
provides wind gusts in the 30-40 knot range north of Interstate 70,
so will express this potential in the HWO.