ZCZC SPCPWOSPC ALL WOUS40 KWNS 100913 IAZ000-ILZ000-MIZ000-MNZ000-WIZ000-101800-
PUBLIC SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 0413 AM CDT SUN APR 10 2011
...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED OVER PARTS OF THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY FROM MID TO LATE AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING...
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OK IS FORECASTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FEW STRONG TORNADOES OVER PARTS OF THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY FROM THE MID-LATE AFTERNOON INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS
THE AREAS MOST LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE THIS ACTIVITY INCLUDE
NORTHEASTERN IOWA EXTREME NORTHWEST ILLINOIS WESTERN UPPER MICHIGAN SMALL PART OF EAST-CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA MUCH OF WISCONSIN
ELSEWHERE...SEVERE STORMS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE FROM THE CENTRAL AND UPPER GREAT LAKES REGION SOUTHWEST INTO THE EASTERN PARTS OF THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PLAINS.
...KEY WEATHER PLAYERS... A POTENT STORM SYSTEM OVER THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ROCKIES IS EXPECTED TO MOVE EAST INTO THE GREAT LAKES...MIDWEST AND PLAINS STATES THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. AHEAD OF THIS FEATURE...WARM AND MOIST AIR WILL STREAM NORTHWARD AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT... RESULTING IN SEASONABLY STRONG INSTABILITY NEEDED TO SUPPORT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.
...TIMING... THUNDERSTORMS OBSERVED DURING THE PRE-DAWN HOURS FROM THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY INTO THE CENTRAL GREAT LAKES REGION WILL CONTINUE TO ADVANCE EAST-NORTHEAST THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS.
ATTENTION WILL THEN TURN TO A POTENTIALLY ACTIVE AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY REGION. AS MORNING CLOUDS DISSOLVE...THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BECOME INCREASINGLY UNSTABLE. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY DEVELOP FROM NORTHWEST WISCONSIN...EAST-CENTRAL/SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA AND NORTHEASTERN IOWA IN THE 200-400 PM PERIOD. THE STORMS WILL THEN DEVELOP/MOVE THROUGHOUT MUCH OF WISCONSIN...WESTERN UPPER MICHIGAN AND NORTHWESTERN ILLINOIS THROUGH EARLY EVENING.
...IMPACTS... MORNING THUNDERSTORMS COULD BRIEFLY ACHIEVE STRENGTH TO PRODUCE LARGE HAIL...BUT HIGHER-IMPACT SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE ASSOCIATED WITH AFTERNOON/EVENING STORMS.
THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP LATER TODAY WILL LIKELY GROW INTO SUPERCELLS WITH THREATS FOR A FEW STRONG TORNADOES...PARTICULARLY ACROSS THE MODERATE RISK AREA. ADDITIONALLY...VERY LARGE HAIL...GREATER THAN HEN EGG SIZE...WILL BE LIKELY ALONG WITH DAMAGING WIND GUSTS.
STATE AND LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGERS ARE MONITORING THIS DEVELOPING SITUATION. THOSE IN THE THREATENED AREA ARE URGED TO REVIEW SEVERE WEATHER SAFETY RULES AND TO LISTEN TO RADIO...TELEVISION...AND NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR POSSIBLE WATCHES...WARNINGS...AND STATEMENTS LATER TODAY.
DAY 1 CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 0623 AM CDT SUN APR 10 2011
VALID 101300Z - 111200Z
...THERE IS A MDT RISK OF SVR TSTMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING OVER PARTS OF SOUTHEAST MN...NORTHEAST IA...NORTHWEST IL...MUCH OF WI...AND WESTERN UPPER MI...
...THERE IS A SLGT RISK OF SVR TSTMS FROM THE GREAT LAKES REGION INTO CENTRAL TX...
...A LOCALIZED OUTBREAK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND TORNADOES IS POSSIBLE LATER TODAY OVER PORTIONS OF THE UPPER MS VALLEY AND WESTERN GREAT LAKES REGION...
MORNING WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS A DEEP UPPER TROUGH OVER THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. A 90-100 KNOT MID/UPPER LEVEL JET IS MOVING ACROSS NM AND WILL NOSE INTO THE MIDWEST STATES THIS AFTERNOON. RAPID SURFACE CYCLOGENESIS WILL ENSUE...WITH A DEEP LOW TRACKING FROM NORTHWEST IA INTO WESTERN UPPER MI. STRONG AND INCREASING SOUTHERLY LOW LEVEL WINDS IN THE WARM SECTOR OF THE LOW WILL DRAW 60S DEWPOINTS NORTHWARD AND YIELD A MODERATELY UNSTABLE AIR MASS AS FAR NORTH AS A WARM FRONT LOCATED ROUGHLY ALONG THE SOUTHERN SHORES OF LAKE SUPERIOR. THE AREA ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE WARM FRONT WILL POSE THE GREATEST THREAT OF SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER LATER TODAY...INCLUDING THE RISK OF DAMAGING TORNADOES.
CURRENT INDICATIONS ARE THAT MORNING CONVECTION OVER MN/WI WILL RETREAT NORTHEASTWARD...WITH CONSIDERABLE SUNSHINE DEVELOPING ACROSS THE REGION THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON. A RATHER STRONG CAPPING INVERSION WILL SUPPRESS NEW THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT UNTIL MID-LATE AFTERNOON AS THE EXIT REGION OF THE UPPER JET WEAKENS THE CAP NEAR THE SURFACE LOW AND COLD FRONT OVER EASTERN MN/NORTHEAST IA. STORMS IN THIS AREA ARE EXPECTED TO RAPIDLY BECOME SUPERCELLULAR WITH THE THREAT OF VERY LARGE HAIL AND TORNADOES. CONVECTION SHOULD RACE NORTHEASTWARD AT OVER 50 KNOTS ACROSS THE MODERATE RISK AREA DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING HOURS. FORECAST SOUNDINGS SHOW EFFECTIVE HELICITY VALUES OF 250-400 MS/S2 AND VERY STRONG DEEP LAYER VERTICAL SHEAR. THE COMBINATION OF WEAKENING CAP...STRENGTHENING WIND FIELDS...AND ENHANCED SHEAR NEAR AND JUST SOUTH OF THE WARM FRONT WILL POSE A RISK OF STRONG TORNADOES. INTENSE ACTIVITY MAY SPREAD AS FAR EAST AS WESTERN UPPER MI BEFORE ENCOUNTERING A MORE STABLE AIR MASS...WHERE WEAKENING IS EXPECTED.
VARIOUS MODEL SOLUTIONS LEND DOUBT REGARDING COVERAGE OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH SOUTHWARD EXTENT. IT APPEARS LIKELY THAT AT LEAST ISOLATED SEVERE/SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS WILL FORM AS FAR SOUTH AS EASTERN IA AND NORTHWEST IL. HOWEVER...SOMEWHAT VEERED LOW LEVEL FLOW APPEARS LIKELY TO DECREASE THE RISK OF SIGNIFICANT TORNADOES COMPARED TO AREAS FARTHER NORTH OVER WI.
LATER THIS EVENING...MORE NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG THE COLD FRONT FROM MO INTO THE ARKLATEX REGION...AND EVENTUALLY INTO TX OVERNIGHT. STRONG WINDS ALOFT AND MODERATE INSTABILITY WILL HELP TO PROMOTE A RISK OF DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL IN THESE STORMS THROUGH MUCH OF THE NIGHT.
Categorical
Tornado Probability of a tornado within 25 miles of a point. Hatched Area: 10% or greater probability of EF2 - EF5 tornadoes within 25 miles of a point.
Hail Probability of hail 1" or larger within 25 miles of a point. Hatched Area: 10% or greater probability of hail 2" or larger within 25 miles of a point.
Wind
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/day1otlk.html [graphics won't update until 1300Z tomorrow morning; updates due at 1630Z, 2000Z and 0100Z (4/11) later today; use this link to see the later updated Day 1 Convective Outlooks]
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source for the above and for later watches and mesoscale discussions (and etc.): NOAA Storm Prediction Center, http://www.spc.noaa.gov/
best source for (the locally-issued) warnings and severe weather statements: College of DuPage Meteorology Severe Weather and Flash Flood Warnings, http://kamala.cod.edu/svr/
MAPLETON, Iowa -- The National Weather Service has completed an initial damage assessment of the storm that tore through Mapleton, Iowa, on Saturday evening.
The National Weather Service says the storm's path length was 3.5 miles with a maximum width of 3/4 of a mile.
Monona County Emergency Management has estimated 12-14 injuries as a result of the storm, according to the NWS, the worst of which was a broken leg.
An EF3 storm is characterized by winds between 136 and 165 mph.