Hello StepBrah here,
With the summer in full swing and hot temps across the USA most people are not thinking about severe weather but rather how hot it will be outside. Severe weather season however is still in full swing and can be deadly if not properly prepared. The picture below is the current day 1 outlook.
This outlook by the SPC or Storm Prediction Center Runs for a full 24hrs. Once this 24hrs is done then the next day's outlook is put into the day one prediction. This prediction can found by following this link. As you can see by the picture the SPC highlights 3 severe elements. These three severe weather producers are Tornado's, Wind, and Hail. Tornado's are often the most talked about severe weather type as they are generally the most destructive and make headlines in the news. However, Wind and Hail can still cause widespread damage and should be headed the same as tornado's. This outlook shows a slight (in yellow) and a marginal risk (in green). The light green is general thunderstorms that should stay below severe limits. The limits on classifying a storm as severe is 1. 60mph wind gusts within the storm, 2. Hail 1in in diameter. If the storm is below these limits then it is not a severe storm. Be warned however that even if a storm does not have a severe thunderstorm warning with it that can still cause damage and should be looked at with caution. Severe storms that show up on radar as having a rotating updraft will instead be designated with a tornado warning. These storms when they are warned are capable of producing tornado's and should be treated with the highest caution.
This image shows the probability of damaging winds within 25 miles of a given point. The brown color is a 5% risk and the yellow is a 15% risk, The area that is circled and is hatched is called the significant severe risk. This means that wind guts of above 74mph is possible within the defined area. People within the hatched risk should pay extra attention to storms that form throughout the day. Anyone within a severe weather area should pay extra attention to the weather so that they know if a storm is coming towards them or not.
This is the current hail outlook issued by the SPC. This is similar to the wind outlook in that the yellow is 15% risk and the brown is a 5% risk. The hatched risk is also smaller than the wind outlook. A hatched area for hail is when hail gets up to 2+ in or around the size of a lime.
This tornado outlook shows two areas where formations of tornado's is most favorable. The risk colors for tornado areas is different. For example, green is 2% brown is 5% and yellow is 10%. For this outlook the Storm Prediction Center is only saying that a 2% marginal risk for tornado's exists. The two areas in Colorado and Montana are the prime spots for a potential weak tornado to spin up. People within these risks should be careful for the small chance of a very isolated tornado.
This is the main page for the SPC. They post outlooks for up to 8 days in advance and I highly suggest checking in to look at what they say. Thank you for reading and stay safe! Please tell me what I should add in the future!
Edit: I spelled "discussion" wrong in the title
With the summer in full swing and hot temps across the USA most people are not thinking about severe weather but rather how hot it will be outside. Severe weather season however is still in full swing and can be deadly if not properly prepared. The picture below is the current day 1 outlook.
This outlook by the SPC or Storm Prediction Center Runs for a full 24hrs. Once this 24hrs is done then the next day's outlook is put into the day one prediction. This prediction can found by following this link. As you can see by the picture the SPC highlights 3 severe elements. These three severe weather producers are Tornado's, Wind, and Hail. Tornado's are often the most talked about severe weather type as they are generally the most destructive and make headlines in the news. However, Wind and Hail can still cause widespread damage and should be headed the same as tornado's. This outlook shows a slight (in yellow) and a marginal risk (in green). The light green is general thunderstorms that should stay below severe limits. The limits on classifying a storm as severe is 1. 60mph wind gusts within the storm, 2. Hail 1in in diameter. If the storm is below these limits then it is not a severe storm. Be warned however that even if a storm does not have a severe thunderstorm warning with it that can still cause damage and should be looked at with caution. Severe storms that show up on radar as having a rotating updraft will instead be designated with a tornado warning. These storms when they are warned are capable of producing tornado's and should be treated with the highest caution.
This image shows the probability of damaging winds within 25 miles of a given point. The brown color is a 5% risk and the yellow is a 15% risk, The area that is circled and is hatched is called the significant severe risk. This means that wind guts of above 74mph is possible within the defined area. People within the hatched risk should pay extra attention to storms that form throughout the day. Anyone within a severe weather area should pay extra attention to the weather so that they know if a storm is coming towards them or not.
This is the current hail outlook issued by the SPC. This is similar to the wind outlook in that the yellow is 15% risk and the brown is a 5% risk. The hatched risk is also smaller than the wind outlook. A hatched area for hail is when hail gets up to 2+ in or around the size of a lime.
This tornado outlook shows two areas where formations of tornado's is most favorable. The risk colors for tornado areas is different. For example, green is 2% brown is 5% and yellow is 10%. For this outlook the Storm Prediction Center is only saying that a 2% marginal risk for tornado's exists. The two areas in Colorado and Montana are the prime spots for a potential weak tornado to spin up. People within these risks should be careful for the small chance of a very isolated tornado.
This is the main page for the SPC. They post outlooks for up to 8 days in advance and I highly suggest checking in to look at what they say. Thank you for reading and stay safe! Please tell me what I should add in the future!
Edit: I spelled "discussion" wrong in the title
